Imports fell 0.4%, while exports edged down 0.2%.

Owing to a large upward revision to imports for the August reference month, the trade balance originally reported as a $526 million trade surplus last month is now showing a $551 million deficit. Most of this revision was due to the import of three high value ships, which were reported after the publication of August data. Although late documentation of high-value transactions is common for trade data, the aggregate value these ships represent is infrequently received in late transactions.