U.S. AI Hardware Exports

## What this measures

The value of AI-related hardware leaving the United States each month, including re-exports.

## Why it matters

U.S. exports in this basket are weighted toward chipmaking equipment and chips, so the series reflects both foreign demand for U.S. tools and the reach of export controls.

## How to read it

Exports were $15.9 billion in August 2026, against $13.2 billion a year earlier; the record month is April 2026 at $18.0 billion. They were $137 billion in 2025, against $76 billion in 2023. Compare with imports (trade.ai_hardware.us_imports); the gap is trade.ai_hardware.us_balance.

## What it does not say

The codes are a proxy: not every server or chip goes into AI, and some AI hardware ships under other codes (finished systems, networking gear). Values are nominal U.S. dollars, not seasonally adjusted, so compare a month with the same month a year earlier. Census revises recent months. Exports include goods first imported and then shipped on unchanged.

## How it's built

Palanor sums the ten HS6 codes the IMF uses for AI hardware in its October 2026 World Economic Outlook: HS 8471.50 (processing units, mainly servers), 8471.70 (storage units), 8471.80 (other computer units), 8473.30 (computer parts), 8486.10, 8486.20, 8486.40 and 8486.90 (semiconductor manufacturing equipment and parts), 8542.31 (processors and controllers) and 8542.32 (memory chips). Daily runs re-read the last 14 months so revisions carry through.

## Source

U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. International Trade in Goods, monthly HS6 detail, via the Census International Trade API. Census trade data are in the public domain. This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.