The U.S. Census Bureau released their Merchandise Trade data numbers on November 13th, 2009. There was another increase in the Merchandise Trade deficit this month as import growth continues to outpace export growth (click here to see August's U.S. Census data update). Total exports increased 4.67% while total imports rose 7.73% from August. This increased the deficit by 13.82% from August and brings the deficit to $360 billion for the year, which is still 43% of the deficit from the same period in 2008.

Below is an in-depth breakdown of the U.S. Census Merchandise Trade data released last week. This month we have highlighted 5 interesting items that we found while looking at September's data; here are the hightlights:

1. Cell phones up, but only slightly
2. Container shipping is up while the Trade Deficit continues to grow
3. Deficits with our largest trading partners are still growing
4. Numbers on toy imports are mixed
5. Turkey imports are down

Click here for Zepol’s U.S. Census Merchandise Trade Data Update for September 2009