6 Fast Footwear Import Insights
Current Data Released is for June 2020

   1. Footwear imports sank to the lowest June in 24 years.

 2.    The year-to-date value of athletic footwear imports is lower from all eleven largest suppliers to the US, accounting for more than 99% of imports.

  3.  The year-to-date value of bootwear imports is lower from all four largest suppliers to the US, accounting for more than 81% of imports.

    4.   U.S. children's footwear imports sank to lowest June in 18 years.

   5.    Leather footwear imports declined for the ninth straight month in June since the Trump tariff hikes went into effect in September, plumbing near the smallest month in decades.

   6.    Duties per pair on leather footwear imports from China surged at a double- or triple-digit year-over-year rate for the ninth straight month in June since the Trump tariff hikes went into effect in September.

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A ‘Perfect Storm’ for Shoe Brands: As Shoppers Demand Discounts, Trump Tariffs Push Supply Chain Costs Higher
As the pandemic drives price-conscious consumers to seek deep discounts, President Donald Trump’s tariffs are pushing supply chains costs higher for brands — a “perfect storm” for shoe players, according to the FDRA.

“The problem facing the shoe industry is historic,” said Matt Priest, president and CEO of the National Footwear Distributors and Retailers of America. “This sort of divergence has never been this dramatic and impactful as 99% of all shoes sold in America are imported.”

Typically, Priest said, supply chain and retail prices rise and fall together, but not in 2020, according to new FDRA predictions.
Footwear Materials Cost Report
A current issue that catches our attention this month: The plunging dollar
Perhaps no other factor impacts costs involved in global footwear sourcing more than the US dollar, both as the key denomination for many commodities traded worldwide and as a global currency. Confirming our earlier outlook, the dollar continues to sag and may be headed for a longer-term decline. 
 
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USMCA Is Here, But Is the Footwear Sector Ready to Adapt?
Now that the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) has been in effect for nearly a month, the footwear industry is digging its heels into what it means to fully implement the pact.

Anne Woelke, product manager for free trade agreements at Thomson Reuters, and Matt Priest, president and CEO of the Footwear Distributors & Retailers Association…