Ahead of the imposition of across-the-board tariff increases last week and the adjustment to those increases this week, at least two of the primary athletics footwear manufacturers saw shipment growth slow in March 2025 after posting strong increases in February.

Feng Tay Enterprises
Feng Tay Enterprises, one of the longest-tenured manufacturers of Nike footwear, reported that manufacturing revenues declined 7.7 percent year-over-year to NT$6.60 billion in March 2026, a moderation from the 12.3 percent decline in February. The February decline was said to be due in part to year-ago shipments getting pulled forward from March 2025 to February 2025 to avoid higher U.S. trade tariffs.

Last year, February 2025 shipments increased 11.4 percent year-over-year, while March 2025 shipments dipped 1.5 percent versus 2024, suggesting easier growth in March this year.

The two-year trend for March 2026 amounted to a 9.0 percent decline versus March 2024. The year started with a 1.8 percent decline in January 2026.

Year-to-date (Q1) shipments for Feng Tay Enterprises declined 7.2 percent year-over-year to NT$19.2 billion. Shipments in Q1 last year inched up 0.5 percent versus 2024 to NT$20.7 billion.

Feng Tay Enterprises reports in New Taiwan Dollars (NT$) currency.

Yue Yuen Manufacturing
The manufacturing business at Yue Yuen Industrial (Holding) Ltd, used by a large number of major outdoor and athletic brands in the U.S. and Europe, posted an 11.5 percent decrease in March 2026, nearly double the 5.9 percent decline in February 2026.

Yue Yuen, as with other Asian producers, is seeing its 2026 trends heavily influenced by last year’s trends, which were driven by a shifting shipment cadence amid the Trump tariff threat as manufacturers and brands attempted to ship goods before the increased tariffs were imposed.

For instance, YY saw a 3.5 percent increase in March 2025 shipments, a sharp deceleration from the 14.9 percent increase it posted in February as it pulled orders forward. Manufacturing shipment value was up 5.9 percent for the 2025 YTD (Q1) period through March 2025 and was down 5.5 percent for the 2026 first quarter.

Yue Yuen Industrial (Holdings) Limited saw total net consolidated operating revenue, including footwear manufacturing and retail stores across China, decline 8.2 percent year-over-year to $604.0 million in March 2026. Unlike recent reports from the company, the decline in total business was due primarily to the Manufacturing business, rather than the Pou Sheng China Retail business, as in the past year.

Year-to-date (first quarter) total net consolidated operating revenue at Yue Yuen declined 2.2 percent to $1.99 billion.

Yue Yuen and its footwear manufacturing business trade and report in U.S. dollars ($) currency.

Image courtesy Port of Los Angeles