Oil is driving price increases in footwear, such as rubber in sneakers and other synthetic materials, and in higher fuel costs connected to shipping and even energy usage at factories.

When it comes to shoe prices, footwear players and consumers alike are on a rocky ride.

“Input costs for lifestyle and athletic brands are rising year over year, and oil is the big driver,” said Matt Priest, president and chief executive officer at Footwear Distributors & Retailers of America (FDRA). “Synthetic materials, which go into nearly every sneaker, are up, and so are rubber and the energy bills at the factories that make them.”

But those inputs and energy bills are not the only factors impacting shoe prices. “Freight is getting more expensive too, with bunker fuel pushing up Trans-Pacific rates and diesel pushing up trucking,” Priest said.

He did note that some inputs, such as leather, have eased in recent months. However, for shoes that are mostly synthetic, costs will stay elevated as long as oil prices are high, Priest said.

“Right now the increases are in the single digits. If oil stays on a higher plateau, those costs will keep working their way through the supply chain from this fall into spring 2027, and they could build well beyond that by next summer,” the FDRA CEO cautioned. There are some offsets, but Priest said he doesn’t know for how long. For example, one bright spot is that the landed, duty-paid cost of an imported pair of shoes has fallen year-over-year for four straight months.

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