US tech hardware imports hit a record $86.9 billion in September

Computers, accessories and semiconductors poured into the US at a 151% year-over-year clip as the AI data center buildout kept shopping America’s appetite for AI hardware has turned into a full-blown import habit. US imports of computers, accessories and semiconductors reached a record $86.9 billion in September 2026, up 151% from a year earlier. That figure, measured on a Census basis, came from trade data released on November 4, 2026, by the US Census Bureau and the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). It shows the data center boom isn’t just a tech story anymore. It is now a trade story, a deficit story and a supply chain story. The numbers behind the shopping spree Tech imports climbed by approximately $12.1 billion in a single month. Most of that came from two categories. Computer imports rose by $7.6 billion in September. Accessories added another $5.7 billion. Semiconductors went the other way, with imports falling by $1.2 billion. A rare cooldown, though hardly enough to dent the overall total. The run rate is the eye-catching part. Annualized, tech imports now exceed $1 trillion. Tech-product imports have also doubled in just two years. The 151% annual jump also clears histo...