by

The advanced technology trade deficit hit an all-time record of $8.3 billion in November, handily beating the previous record of $7.7 billion, set in October 2007, at the peak of the boom. That’s the gap between exports and imports for high-tech goods such as aerospace, advanced materials, information technology, and biotech.

On one level, that’s not a surprise. The U.S. has run a trade deficit in advanced technology products in every month since June 2002. On another level, it’s intensely disturbing that the financial crisis seems to have done nothing to break the longterm trend.