US footwear manufacturing grew 7.9% in 2011
26/09/2012
US footwear consumption dropped 3.8% in volume in 2011 to 2.18 billion pairs of shoes but grew 4.8% in value to reach $66.1 billion at retail.
This growth in value reflects the increase in price driven by higher supply chain costs, including increases in materials, labour and transportation, as well as consumers returning to purchases of shoes at higher price-points coming out of the recession.
AAFA President and CEO Kevin Burke said: "2011 was marked by an increase in retail sales and growth in employment at the manufacturing, wholesale and retail levels. There was a shift in sourcing as the industry began to diversify its supply chain away from China to other viable sourcing partners, including the United States.”
One million people are employed in the industry in the US, with 98.6% of the footwear sold in the US produced internationally.
According to AAFA's report, on average, every American, which includes children, spent $212 on more than seven pairs of shoes in 2011.
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