Footwear shipments rose in September for shoe manufacturer Yue Yuen, a sign of improvement for the operation.
The company said that its manufacturing revenues rose 6.6 percent on a year-over-year basis. The increase indicates signs of green shoots in footwear manufacturing, both for order intake and shipment. Still, the company said that for the nine months ended September 2026, revenue for the core shoe manufacturing operation is down 3.8 percent.
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In addition to athletic, casual and outdoor shoes, Yue Yuen makes shoe uppers, shoe bottoms and completed products consisting of both uppers and bottoms for companies ranging from Adidas, New Balance and Nike to Salomon, Crocs and Timberland, among others.
Consolidated group operating revenue for Yue Yuen, including its retail subsidiary Pou Sheng International (Holdings) Ltd., rose 5.6 percent in September to $668.6 million. Pou Sheng revenue for the period was down 2.5 percent.
Overall business operations showed improvement from August 2026. In the August period, footwear manufacturing business revenue was down 1.6 percent on a year-over-year basis, consolidated operating revenue fell 2.1 percent to $636.6 million, and Pou Sheng revenue dropped 9.0 percent.
China's shoemakers have been under pressure for some time, particularly following U.S. President Donald Trump's imposition of reciprocal tariffs in April 2025 . And while a greater variety of footwear is sourced from China, the Asian country is no longer the low-cost provider it once was. Shoe brands have moved to other countries, such as Vietnam and Cambodia. Last October, shoe firms received a China tariff break lasting one year from "heightened reciprocal tariffs" on China imports.
Then this past February saw the U.S. Supreme Court rule illegal most of Trump's emergency tariffs. Trump immediately signed an order for new 10 percent global tariffs for a limited time of 150 days that expires on July 24. That was followed by new tariffs ranging from 10 percent to 12.5 percent . Some shoe brands took advantage of the lowered tariffs and moved some production back to China. As of October 2026, the tariff rate on most China imports is around 30 percent, down from a high of 145 percent last year. The bilateral truce between the U.S. and China, signed in September 2026, remains current through Nov. 10, 2026.
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