AAFA reports drop in shoe imports.

While China still supplies more than eight out of every 10 shoes sold in the U.S., domestic production is on the up. A recent report by the AAFA (American Apparel and Footwear Association) found that in 2012, the number of shoes manufactured in the United States increased by 9 percent. This rise combined with a corresponding fall in imports caused import penetration in the footwear market to fall slightly for the second year in a row, from 98.7 percent to 98.6 percent. And while footwear consumption declined by volume that year, the value of that consumption, as measured by Personal Consumption Expenditures (PCE) grew by 4.9 percent to a record $72.4 billion.