U.S. AI Hardware Imports

## What this measures

The value of AI-related hardware entering the United States each month: servers and other computer units, computer parts, semiconductor manufacturing equipment, processors and memory chips.

## Why it matters

Most of the servers inside U.S. AI data centers are assembled abroad, chiefly in Taiwan and Mexico, so imports are a monthly read on the AI build-out that arrives well before company capex reports.

## How to read it

Imports were $60.5 billion in August 2026, against $28.7 billion a year earlier; the record month is July 2026 at $64.1 billion. For whole years they ran between $72 billion and $130 billion from 2013 to 2023, then $180 billion in 2024 and $330 billion in 2025. The first eight months of 2026 total $388 billion. Compare a month with the same month a year earlier, or read the partner series (Taiwan, Mexico, China) to see where the hardware comes from. Read with hyperscaler capex (capex.hyperscalers.ttm) and the AI share of goods imports (trade.ai_hardware.us_import_share).

## 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.

## 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.