US capital goods exports hit a record $710.3 billion in 2025, and every stage of the chain is financed
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Machinery, aircraft and parts take months to build and years to pay for. So industrial trade runs on supplier finance programs upstream, export credit agency terms for the foreign buyer, and dealer inventory finance downstream.
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01 · The flows
US trade in capital goods set records in both directions in 2025
are the machines and equipment that businesses use to make other goods or deliver services. Think of factory machinery, engines, aircraft and their parts.
In 2025, US exports of capital goods were $710.3 billion, the highest on record, according to the US Census Bureau. US imports of capital goods were $1.1 trillion, also a record. Total US goods exports reached $2.2 trillion, another record.
These goods take a long time to build. Buyers often pay for them over years. So finance is needed at each stage: for the factory's suppliers, for the foreign buyer and for the dealer who holds the stock.
Figure 1
US capital goods trade, 2025
Each card shows the 2025 figure and its record status.
Source: US Census Bureau, Annual 2025 Press Highlights, U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services, February 19, 2026.
02 · Upstream: paying suppliers
Big manufacturers help their suppliers get paid early through supplier finance programs
A manufacturer buys parts from many suppliers. It often pays them weeks or months after delivery. lets those suppliers get their cash sooner.
Here is how it works. The buyer sets up a program with a bank or other finance provider, per the Global Supply Chain Finance Forum. The buyer approves a supplier's invoice for payment. The supplier can then sell that invoice and be paid the full amount less a financing discount. The buyer still pays on the original due date.
US accounting rules call this a . US companies report the amount they owe under these programs in their SEC filings. That makes the size of each program public.
Boeing reported supply chain financing obligations of $2,703 million at December 31, 2024 and $2,107 million at March 31, 2025, in its SEC filing data. Eaton reported $398 million at December 31, 2024, per its filing data. PPG reported $251 million at the same date, per its filing data.
Figure 2
Supplier finance obligations reported by US industrial companies
Read across for the obligation and the reporting date.
Source: SEC EDGAR XBRL, SupplierFinanceProgramObligation, filings February 2025 to February 2026.
Shown in millions of US dollars, converted from the reported dollar amounts by our Research Desk.
Long build times also tie up cash. Plexus reported a cash cycle of 62 days at July 4, 2026, in its quarterly earnings release. Its cash cycle is a version of the : the number of days cash is tied up between paying for materials and collecting from customers.
Plexus adds the days it waits to collect from customers, the days in contract assets and the days goods sit in stock. It then takes away the days it takes to pay suppliers and the days covered by customer advance payments. Goods sat in inventory for 116 days, the longest part of that cycle.
03 · The foreign buyer: term credit
Export credit agencies let foreign buyers pay for equipment over several years
A buyer abroad may not want to pay for a large machine all at once. An (ECA) helps. It is a government-backed body that insures, guarantees or lends so the buyer can pay over time. In the United States, the ECA is .
EXIM's Loan Guarantee finances international buyers of US capital goods and related services. It covers 100 percent of , which is the risk that the buyer cannot pay. It also covers 100 percent of , which is the risk that events in the buyer's country stop payment.
The UK has a similar product. UK Export Finance's Buyer Credit Facility guarantees a bank loan to an overseas buyer of capital goods. A loan made to the buyer like this is called a . The loan can be up to 85% of the contract value. The buyer pays at least 15% directly to the exporter.
International rules set the minimum. Under the OECD Arrangement, the buyer makes a of at least 15% of the contract value. The rest is repaid in equal, regular installments, at least once a year. The first installment is due no later than one year after the credit starts.
Insurance is another route. EXIM's covers 85% of the invoice value after a 15% buyer down payment, according to EXIM's product sheet. CIF value is the price of the goods plus freight and insurance to the destination port. Repayment terms run from 1 to 5 years, and up to 10 years in some cases, for invoices up to $25 million.
The length of the credit is called its . Smaller equipment sales use shorter tenors. can cover small capital goods for up to 360 days, according to the International Trade Administration (ITA).
is a third route. A finance provider buys the buyer's payment promise from the exporter. It cannot come back to the exporter if the buyer does not pay. The ITA's Trade Finance Guide says forfaiting applies to capital goods sold on credit of 180 days to seven years or more.
Figure 3 · Try it
How an equipment sale is repaid over time
Move the sliders to change the contract value, down payment, number of installments and rate. Figures are rounded to the nearest dollar.
Repayment term (years)
Installments per year
Down payment paid by the buyer
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Principal per installment
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Total interest over the term
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Formula in words: financed amount = contract value minus down payment; principal per installment = financed amount divided by (years x installments per year); interest each period = opening balance x annual rate / installments per year (180/360 for semi-annual, a standard 30/360 convention). The export credit agency premium is excluded.
Our Research Desk used equal principal installments with interest on the opening balance for each half-year (180/360), following the OECD Arrangement's minimum 15% down payment and equal, regular installments. The rates shown are for illustration and are not Ossiano pricing.
This calculator explains the concept only. Down payments, tenors, premiums and rates vary by agency, buyer country and transaction.
04 · Public finance for US production
EXIM also finances the factories that make the exports
EXIM supports US manufacturers at home as well as their buyers abroad. On September 9, 2026, EXIM signed a $280 million direct loan with CesiumAstro for its facility in Austin, according to EXIM. A direct loan means EXIM provides the money itself. The deal is part of EXIM's Make More in America initiative and supports more than 500 positions.
On August 4, 2026, EXIM and BETA Technologies announced their intent to expand a financing agreement to up to $1 billion, per EXIM.
Foreign buyers of US equipment use EXIM too. On September 18, 2025, the EXIM board approved nearly $185 million for Grupo Mexico Transportes (GMXT) to buy modernized locomotives from US exporter Wabtec, according to EXIM. Our US to Latin America corridor guide covers that deal in more detail.
05 · Downstream: dealers and processors
Dealer inventory finance and tolling keep goods moving after the factory gate
A finished machine often waits at a dealer until a customer buys it. pays for that stock while it waits. A close relative is , which funds a dealer's stock of units held for sale.
Toro owns 45.00 percent of Red Iron Acceptance, LLC, according to its annual report filed with the SEC. Red Iron is a joint venture, a company owned by more than one partner. It provides to certain US distributors and dealers of Toro products.
This support shows up in Toro's accounts. Its financing costs for distributor and dealer inventories were $114.7 million in fiscal 2023, $100.9 million in fiscal 2024 and $79.4 million in fiscal 2025, per the same filing.
is another downstream structure. The Global Supply Chain Finance Forum describes tolling as a form of inventory finance. The finance lets raw materials or parts go to a third party for refining or manufacturing before they are sold on.
Century Aluminum described this in its annual report for 2013. Under its Grundartangi tolling agreements, Glencore provided alumina and received primary aluminum in return. Glencore paid tolling fees based on the primary aluminum price.
Figure 4 · Interactive
Three financing points in an industrial supply chain
Pick a stage to follow the goods and the cash.
Steps are drawn from GSCFF Standard Definitions, the OECD Arrangement TAD/PG(2026)1, UK Export Finance, EXIM, and The Toro Company Form 10-K for fiscal 2025.
The $10,000,000 figures in the ECA buyer credit stage are an illustration from our Research Desk's worked example, not a real deal.
06 · Ossiano view
Industrial trade is financed at three points in the chain
OBSERVATION 01
Record exports mean record buyer credit needs
Capital goods exports reached a record $710.3 billion in 2025. Equipment buyers abroad often pay over years, and that is where ECA-backed terms come in.
OBSERVATION 02
Supplier programs are disclosed and measurable
Boeing, Eaton and PPG report their supplier finance obligations in SEC filings. Those numbers give suppliers and finance providers a public view of program size.
OBSERVATION 03
Dealer finance costs fell two years running
Toro's financing costs for distributor and dealer inventories fell from $114.7 million in fiscal 2023 to $79.4 million in fiscal 2025. Dealer stock finance is a cost line you can track in company accounts.
Summary
Industrial goods are financed before, during and after the sale
US capital goods exports reached a record $710.3 billion in 2025, and imports a record $1.1 trillion. These goods are slow to build and slow to pay for, so finance appears at three points.
Upstream, manufacturers run supplier finance programs. Boeing reported $2,703 million of obligations at December 31, 2024. For the foreign buyer, export credit agencies back credit over years: EXIM's medium-term insurance covers 85% of CIF value after a 15% down payment, on terms of 1 to 5 years. Downstream, dealers hold stock on inventory finance, as with Toro's Red Iron joint venture.
Related guides: Payables finance; Distributor finance; Inventory finance; Forfaiting; Trade credit insurance; The cash conversion cycle; US to Latin America corridor guide. Instrument cards: ECA-backed finance; Payables finance; Distributor finance; Inventory finance; Forfaiting; Tolling; Trade credit insurance. Terms are defined in the Trade Finance Glossary.
The Ossiano Research Desk Market Read on factories and households covers factory-sector conditions. For questions on how these shifts affect existing or planned trade finance exposures, contact the Ossiano Research Desk.
Sources
- US Census Bureau, Annual 2025 Press Highlights, February 19, 2026. Supports: capital goods exports of $710.3 billion and imports of $1.1 trillion in 2025, both records; total goods exports of $2.2 trillion, a record.
- The Boeing Company via SEC EDGAR, XBRL SupplierFinanceProgramObligation, April 23, 2025. Supports: obligations of $2,703,000,000 at December 31, 2024 and $2,107,000,000 at March 31, 2025.
- Eaton Corporation plc via SEC EDGAR, XBRL SupplierFinanceProgramObligation, February 27, 2025. Supports: obligations of $398,000,000 at December 31, 2024.
- PPG Industries Inc via SEC EDGAR, XBRL SupplierFinanceProgramObligation, February 19, 2026. Supports: obligations of $251,000,000 at December 31, 2024.
- Global Supply Chain Finance Forum, Payables Finance, October 31, 2024. Supports: the buyer-led program, invoice approval as the trigger for finance, and payment less a financing discount.
- Plexus Corp via SEC EDGAR, Fiscal 2026 third quarter earnings release, Form 8-K Exhibit 99.1, July 29, 2026. Supports: a cash cycle of 62 days and 116 days in inventory at July 4, 2026, and how the cash cycle is calculated.
- Export-Import Bank of the United States, Loan Guarantee, undated. Supports: financing for international buyers of US capital goods and related services; cover for 100 percent of commercial and political risks.
- UK Export Finance via GOV.UK, Buyer Credit Facility, January 27, 2026. Supports: a guarantee to a bank lending to an overseas buyer of capital goods; maximum loan of 85% of contract value; at least 15% paid by the buyer.
- OECD, Arrangement on Officially Supported Export Credits, TAD/PG(2026)1, January 26, 2026. Supports: minimum 15% down payment (Article 11 a)); equal and regular installments, at least annually, first installment within one year (Article 13).
- Export-Import Bank of the United States, Medium-Term Export Credit Insurance (EBK-MEDT-26-02-18), February 18, 2026. Supports: terms of 1 to 5 years (in some cases up to 10); cover of 85% of CIF invoice value after a 15% buyer down payment; invoices up to $25 million.
- US International Trade Administration, Export Credit Insurance, undated. Supports: short-term cover of up to 360 days for small capital goods.
- US International Trade Administration, Trade Finance Guide, July 2022. Supports: forfaiting of capital goods on credit of 180 days to seven years or more.
- Export-Import Bank of the United States, EXIM signs $280 million financing for CesiumAstro's Texas manufacturing facility, September 9, 2026. Supports: the $280 million direct loan under Make More in America, supporting more than 500 positions.
- Export-Import Bank of the United States, BETA Technologies and EXIM Bank announce intent to expand financing agreement, August 4, 2026. Supports: intent to expand financing to up to $1 billion.
- Export-Import Bank of the United States, EXIM Board of Directors approves infrastructure investments totaling nearly $285 million, September 18, 2025. Supports: the approval of nearly $185 million for GMXT to buy locomotives from Wabtec.
- The Toro Company via SEC EDGAR, Form 10-K for fiscal 2025, Red Iron joint venture note and financing costs note, December 17, 2025. Supports: Toro's 45.00 percent share of Red Iron Acceptance, LLC; financing costs for distributor and dealer inventories of $79.4 million (fiscal 2025), $100.9 million (fiscal 2024) and $114.7 million (fiscal 2023).
- Global Supply Chain Finance Forum, Standard Definitions: Distributor Finance, 2016. Supports: the dealer inventory finance steps in Figure 4.
- Global Supply Chain Finance Forum, Standard Definitions: Loan or Advance against Inventory, 2016. Supports: tolling as a form of inventory finance.
- Century Aluminum Company via SEC EDGAR, Form 10-K for fiscal 2013, 2014. Supports: the Grundartangi tolling agreements with Glencore.
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