What is the cost of shoe component parts?

When a designer draws a new shoe or a footwear product line manager starts a new line plan, it is important to have an idea of what the different shoe parts cost. To meet the target selling price and avoid high import duty categories it is critical to get your price right.  Here is quick cost breakdown of the standard parts of a sports shoe.

Shoe Materials List:

Toe Cap Suede Leather $0.82 Vamp MESH+4MMKF329+24GT/C $0.16
Quarter/Eye row Suede Leather  $.85
Quarter 220D Nylon +4MMKF329+24GT/C $1.20
Quarter logo ACTION $0.15
Collar 220D Nylon +4MMKF329+24GT/C $0.20
Heel Counter Suede Leather  $0.69
Heel logo Screen Print $0.15
Tongue 220D Nylon +4MMKF329+24GT/C $0.15
Tongue Lining 180G PU +4MMKF329+24GT/C $0.12
Collar Lining 180G PU +4MMKF329+24GT/C $0.28
Tongue Foam 20mm KFF $0.13
Collar Foam 20mm KFF $0.13
Inner Lining 180g Cosmo $0.12
Toe Box .8 Syrlin $0.03
Counter PVC injection Counter $0.10
Eye row Reinforcement Supertuff $0.03
Tongue Straps 40mm Elastic $0.13
Tongue Logo Woven Label $0.03
Lace 8mm Flat Lace $0.20
Upper Stitching $0.04
Outsole #67-w34 $1.50
Midsole Two color wedge EVA $1.50
Sock liner Standard molded Eva $0.85
Insole 1.5mm insole board $0.09
Outsole Lamination $0.50
Cement & Thread $0.50
Standard shoe packing is around $.77

Here is a list of shoe material suppliers 

The Ultimate Shoe Material Guide Book

Start with In-depth study of material types available in modern shoemaking. Learn the Technical details of shoe material specification. 195 pages or 300 color photos.

Buy Now
on sale $39.99

The Running Shoe and its Parts:The Anatomy of a Shoe

Running Shoe Parts Terminology:

The Toe Tip:
Thin rubber strip from the outsole with a stitch grove to hold it on to the upper.
Rubber Outsole:
Compression molded in a flat mold
Toe Burst Panel:
Reinforces the vamp to prevent the big toe nail from tearing the vamp
Vamp:
The running shoe vamp should be soft, flexible and breathable.
Tongue Attachment:
A double row of stitching that anchors the base of the tongue to the vamp.
Mudguard:
The Muguard is the shoe .elementor-divider__svg:first-of-type{-webkit-box-flex:0;-ms-flex-positive:0;flex-grow:0;-ms-flex-negative:100;flex-shrink:100}.elementor-widget-divider--element-align-left .elementor-divider-separator:before{content:none}.elementor-widget-divider--element-align-left .elementor-divider__element{margin-left:0}.elementor-widget-divider--element-align-right .elementor-divider .elementor-divider-separator>.elementor-divider__svg:last-of-type{-webkit-box-flex:0;-ms-flex-positive:0;flex-grow:0;-ms-flex-negative:100;flex-shrink:100}.elementor-widget-divider--element-align-right .elementor-divider-separator:after{content:none}.elementor-widget-divider--element-align-right .elementor-divider__element{margin-right:0}.elementor-widget-divider:not(.elementor-widget-divider--view-line_text):not(.elementor-widget-divider--view-line_icon) .elementor-divider-separator{border-top:var(--divider-border-width) var(--divider-border-style) var(--divider-color)}.elementor-widget-divider--separator-type-pattern{--divider-border-style:none}.elementor-widget-divider--separator-type-pattern.elementor-widget-divider--view-line .elementor-divider-separator,.elementor-widget-divider--separator-type-pattern:not(.elementor-widget-divider--view-line) .elementor-divider-separator:after,.elementor-widget-divider--separator-type-pattern:not(.elementor-widget-divider--view-line) .elementor-divider-separator:before,.elementor-widget-divider--separator-type-pattern:not([class*=elementor-widget-divider--view]) .elementor-divider-separator{width:100%;min-height:var(--divider-pattern-height);-webkit-mask-size:var(--divider-pattern-size) 100%;mask-size:var(--divider-pattern-size) 100%;-webkit-mask-repeat:var(--divider-pattern-repeat);mask-repeat:var(--divider-pattern-repeat);background-color:var(--divider-color);-webkit-mask-image:var(--divider-pattern-url);mask-image:var(--divider-pattern-url)}.elementor-widget-divider--no-spacing{--divider-pattern-size:auto}.elementor-widget-divider--bg-round{--divider-pattern-repeat:round}.rtl .elementor-widget-divider .elementor-divider__text{direction:rtl}.e-container>.elementor-widget-divider{width:var(--container-widget-width,100%);--flex-grow:var(--container-widget-flex-grow,0)}

A must-have for anyone serious about launching a footwear company. 4 text books, shoe business documents and downloadable content not available anywhere else! The Shoe Company Start-Up Pro Pack is all you need to get your shoe business off the ground.
Learn more
Download Today

Nike Air Jordan Imminent Shoe Review:

No doubt Nike makes great shoes, but today we are going to take a critical look at the Nike Air Jordan Imminent.  Rather than review the styling from “Sneaker Freak” perspective or the performance of the shoe for actually playing basketball, I want to do a “tear down” to study the construction, materials, assembly, value and production costs.

Our review  will start with what it costs Nike to make the Air Jordan Imminent.  The retail price of the Jordan Imminent is on the high side at $120.   Based on the selling price of $120 for an 8% import duty shoe,  with ocean shipping included,  I calculate the shoe factory build price to be around $25.00.  In 2012, Nike paid Michael Jordan over 60 million dollars, so I figure there must be a royalty payment of maybe a dollar per pair?  So let’s figure it’s around $24.00 to make the shoe.  Of Nike’s build price we can estimate 25% to 35% for the factory LOP,  maybe $8.00.   That leaves between $16.00 to $18.00 dollars for the materials, upper, leather and outsole parts.
The Nike Air Jordan Imminent upper pattern is not complicated.   Only 7 panels to make the upper, so the stitching make or cost is not very high. The Jordan Imminent is very well put together. The stitching is clean and straight and all the upper stitching is a double row. While I’m a little surprised to see that none of leather edges are skived and tuned, the exposed edges are solid black, by drum dyed leather or painted edges.  The full grain leather vamp is smooth and well-formed, evidence that the leather is well backed, I would expect Imminent’s upper parts are assembled with hot melt glue and carefully pre-molded before the lasting operations to make such a nice shape.
For the logo treatments, Nike has gone with a very simple look for the Air Jordan Imminent.  Only 2 embossed logos made by RF welding process.  The heel side logo on the lateral side and tongue logos are both cleanly and deeply embossed, this leads me to believe that Nike has swapped in a matte finish synthetic material for these panels instead of full grain leather.  Full grain leather doesn’t melt so it will resist deep embossing.  The synthetic leather logo panel is showing white backing on the edge…could be better.

The double row of stitching around the tongue logo is super clean and perfectly round, definitely made by a computer stitching machine. The embossed stitch flange is a nice touch also.

The 3D air mesh with black over red for the tongue and heel pad is a neat and subtle accent. All the tongue seams are turned out so there is not a stitch to be seen, very nice.

The upper materials in general are nice but nothing exotic or expensive.  The waxed laces are simple and clean.  Red webbing covers the heel seams, a great way to hide ugly seams and a good way to increase the cutting yield without the shoe looking like a puzzle.  The collar topline is neatly rolled into the lycra lining.  I did notice a small kink where the eyestay reinforcing ends, maybe a little extra skiving inside could smooth that out.  A word about the eyelets, there is none.  Just punched holes for all the positions.   Okay…but not great.

Following the ultra clean theme for the Air Jordan Imminent outsole, Nike has gone with a very simple design for the midsole and outsole parts. The injection molded EVA midsole is a single color with three contour breaks.  I did see some waves in the midsole top line,  I do expect there will be waves where the uppers leather panels overlap, but my pair  has a few small waves on flat panels, not the best workmanship but a very minor issue.
The midsole is solid EVA in the forefoot with a small heel air bag.  The Nike Air bag is blow molded with 10 stabilizing pillars.  After molding,  the air bag is painted silver to add an accent.   A closer look shows the Air Jordan Imminent air bag has the blow mold seam hidden by the outsole bottom or midsole.

The rubber bottom is a simple color blocking with an EVA break showing in the forefoot. The rubber parting lines are thin and super clean, well-trimmed.  This is evidence of high quality tooling, as you would expect on any Air Jordan shoe.

Overall this is a clean shoe, simply built, nice materials.  An efficient, labor-saving design, lacking the extra nice touches that you would like to see in a shoe which costs $120.00.  I like the shoe.  It’s well made, with high quality materials, a basic clean shoe.

Outsole Tooling

The outsole tooling for athletic shoe is the most complicated and most expensive piece of equipment required for production.  The outsole tooling for footwear comes in many different styles and configurations.  Shoe outsoles are made from many different types of rubber, plastic, foam, leather or fabric each requiring it’s own tooling requirements and manufacturing technology.

We are going to talk about the design requirements and tooling for the rubber, plastic and foam outsoles found in the modern athletic sports and casual shoes.   The outsole design you select for your shoe design is critical to it’s comfort, performance and price.   You will need to know about the equipment requirements and unit price for each type of outsole design.

It’s critical that you understand the Tooling and manufacturing requirements for each outsole type.  If you are designing for Nike go ahead and design a complicated outsole with blow molded air bags, plastic injections etc…. The sky is the limit. $20,000 per size is no problem.  If the production is a million pairs $150,000  for the tooling is no problem.  However if you are start up strapped for cash,  a cup sole unit is $1400 per size is more realistic.

Of course performance matters.  You would never use Rubber cupsole for a running shoe or likewise a combat boot with the huge air bag is also a bad idea.

Basic Outsole Types:   Rubber Cupsole,  Cut and Buff EVA wedge sole, Combination Cut and Buff/Cupsole,  Two piece EVA rubber sole, Vulcanized Rubber sole,  Lightweight EVA Outsole, EVA Sole unit, Injection Molded EVA, Injection Molded plastic Sole unit, Blow Molded Air Bag Sole Unit.

Outsole Types

Air Bag Midsole

The air bag midsole is made by the blow molding process.  The midsole starts out as hot semi-liquid plastic extrusion tube (called a parison).  A steel mold clamps around the tube and the air is injected inside to fill the bag and inflates the shape to fill the mold.  The tooling and machines are very expensize. The plastic can be tinted and the bag top and bottom surfaces can be painted.  In this case the air bag is attached to an EVA tray that is then bonded to the shoe outsole by cold cement process.  The type of sole unit is great for running and cross training.  The air bag does look cool but due to the blow molding process the plastic walls of the bag can be a little thick.  This sole unit requires an EVA Compression mold, Rubber compression mold and blow molds.
TOOLING:$$$$    UNITPRICE:$$$$

Compression Molded EVA or CMEVA

The standard two part sole is made with light weight  CM EVA midsole, bonded to a rubber outsole.   The EVA foam is expanded into blocks then cut down to fit into a mold.  The mold is heated causing the EVA to re-expand and fill the compression mold.  The density and durometer is set by how much foam is compressed into the mold and the formula of the foam.   More foam is harder and gives the sole design more definition.  Midsole is bonded to the rubber in the stock fitting room before the unit meets the upper in assembly.  This sole unit requires an EVA compression mold and a rubber compression mold.
TOOLING:$$   UNIT PRICE:$$

How to Pick Shoe Materials

Start with In-depth reviews of material types available in modern shoemaking. Learn the Technical details of shoe material specification. 195 pages or 300 color photos.

Learn more
on sale $39.99

Injected Midsole

Many firms have been experimenting with foamless injection molded midsoles.  The shoe has a stiff moderating plate under the heel to keep the shoe stable. The Midsole structure is likely made of Nylon or TPU plastic.  The rubber tread is attached by stock fitting.  This sole unit requires an EVA Compression mold for the midsole hidden inside, Rubber compression mold for the tread and Injection molds for the midsole component.
TOOLING:$$$$    UNITPRICE:$$$$

Injection EVA Midsole

This running shoe uses an injection molded EVA midsole with rubber inserts.  The Injected midsole has a thicker, smoother skin than compression molded EVA midsole.  The Injected EVA midsole has a more uniform density and better detail definition than the compression molded EVA.  This unit is very light, very flexible but will wear quickly.  The Injection molded tooling has a high production rate but the molds are over $3,000 per sizes and requires an expensive machine.  The compression EVA tooling is half the price and can be made in the most basic pressing room. This sole unit requires an EVA injection mold and rubber compression mold.
TOOLING:$$$   UNIT PRICE:$$

The EVA Wedge

This classic Die Cut EVA  wedge midsole is bonded to a compression molded rubber bottom.  The top wedge shape of the EVA is cut by pressing the EVA with a profile roller while a blade splits off the bottom layers.  The white layer is buffed and bonded to the rubber bottom.  All three parts are them buffed to create the angled side wall.  Labor intensive but required very little tooling.  In fact one bottom tool can be trimmed to make 4 to 6  sizes. This New Balance shoe requires a rubber compression tool.
TOOLING:$   UNIT PRICE:$

Poured PU Midsole

The shoe is made by PU foam direct attach.  In this process the Upper is clamped into the top of a mold.   The mold is filled in two shots, first the sole is molded, once the bottom cools in a few minutes a second shot of light weight PU will fill the space between the Upper and bottom. The PU fuses directly to the upper.  This sole requires a 2 part PU rubber injection mold AND a million dollar machine.
TOOLING:$$$   UNIT PRICE:$

Classic Rubber Cupsole

This classic cup shoe with a one piece rubber cupsole.  The white side wall and black rubber are molded together in one operation.  The mold has a middle plate allowing the to parts to be formed separately, before the rubber is fully cured the middle plate is removed the rubber colors can fuse together without a messy seam.  The side logo is painted after molding.  Inside you will find a die-cut piece of EVA foam.  The stitch groove is an under cut in the mold but the stretchable rubber is easily removed after molding.  The channel stitching is done after assembly. This requires only a rubber compression mold.

TOOLING:$   UNIT PRICE:$
The cup sole mold can be made with no foam filler inside.  The cheapest shoes may have rubber egg crate filler.

PU poured Air

This classic air bag  shoe midsole is made by over molding PU but in this case the air bag is clipped in heel and exposed.  The window is where the clamps hold the bag in place and they stop the PU from covering the bag.  The rubber sole is made by compression,  the top of the black part is molds parting line.   The Yellow part with specs is the same PU part holding the air bag but this area is masked off and painted.   After the PU parts are cleaned and painted , they are bonded to the rubber parts by the stock fitting line.  The toe channel stitching is done after assembly. This outsole requires a rubber compression tool, Air bag mold and PU midsole mold.
TOOLING:$$   UNIT PRICE:$$

New Courses
for Brand Builders

Shoemaking Basics for Designers & Brand builders
How to Select Shoe Materials
Creating Footwear Specifications


Learn more
Enroll now

Cup & Cut and buff sole

This indoor soccer shoe is a combination cupsole and cut and buff.  The rubber is pressed then the EVA wedge is cement in place.  The EVA is then buffed down to match the rubber side wall.  This construction is more flexible and lighter than a standard rubber cupsole.  This outsole requires a rubber compression mold.

TOOLING:$$   UNIT PRICE:$$

Classic Vulcanized Outsole

This outsole is standard vulcanized shoe construction.  This is how Vans makes it’s shoes, and how the Converse All Star is made.   The sole bottom is bonded to the upper, then striped rubber  foxing tape wraps them both.  After this assembly operation is done the entire shoe is cooked to cure the rubber making the bonds permanent. See Vulcanized VS Cold Cement  This outsole requires a rubber compression mold for the bottom and a specialized vulcanize production factory.
TOOLING:$   UNIT PRICE:$

Injection Molded Outsole

This soccer cleat outsole is made by injection molding process.  Cleated shoes for soccer, football and baseball require stiff supportive bottoms with heavy cleats.   Cleated shoes are made by the cold cement process.  The Sole unit may be sewn to the upper after the cementing operation.   This outsole requires a plastic injection mold.    Complicated designs with several colors require an expensive mold, Simple designs require a less expensive tooling.  Cleats with metal spikes or inserts require over molding processes.  This type injection tooling requires a specialized injection molding factory.
TOOLING:$$-$$$$   UNIT PRICE:$ to $$$$

14 Shoe material lessons.
Over 4 1/2 hours of video instruction.
In-depth study of leather, textiles, synthetics and plastics.
Material Design Guide Text Book included.

Learn more
enroll now $399

When shoes are made overseas they need to be transported to their final market.  Transportation is the act of moving it, but today I want to talk about importing shoes and import duty.  We wish it was so easy just to put the shoes on a boat and sail them here!  so easy! right?  Nope.

Once your shoe production run is finished the shoes are placed into an ocean freight container.  You have seen these giant boxes.  They are exactly the size of a 40 foot trailer on a semi truck. The standard size is 40 feet by 8 feet by 8 feet and holds about 5000 pairs.  There is the half size  20 footer and the Extra Large 40 foot High Cube (about 1 foot taller than the standard 40.
This is the standard shipping method  FCL (full container load) vs.  LCL less than container load or as loss freight.  Try to avoid LCL as it’s more expensive and takes longer and merchandise is not protected as well as when sealed in a metal shipping container.
Once your shoes are in the container they will be trucked to the freight harbor and delivered. This is handed by the Freight forwarder or the factories Freight forwarder.  The Freight forwarder is the company that arranges shipping and handles the export and import documentation.   They are responsible for passing the shipping documents to Customs officials of the exporting and importing countries. The forwarder contacts the shipping lines and schedules your container to meet the vessel traveling to your import harbor.
Because ocean shipping from china to the USA takes 15 to 20 days the forwarder has time to get your import documents processed before your shipment lands.

Shoe import duty depends on the country of origin and the destination country.   I’m going to talk about the import duty regulations for importing shoes from China to the USA.  The rules to classify shoes are common while each importing country may have different duties.

Minimize Import Duty Charges 
and Avoid Costly Errors
To avoid customs clearance delays and costly fees, footwear designers, developers, and brand managers must understand the import duty regulations for shoes. 

Learn More

For a shoe to be imported first it must be  “Classified” this tells the US government what you want to import and tell you what the import duty is.  A large shoe company will have an inhouse import specialist that will review the shoes  and assign the classifications.  It’s very important for you to know the duty classification as the duty must be added to your shoe price.  We call this “landing” or the “Landed Price”  This includes all the freight charges and the importing duty.
A quick word about the shipping.  This isn’t hard to hard calculate.  The container rate, document fees and inland transport divided into the number of shoes in the container.  For a full container load of 500 pairs  in a 40 foot container  the shipping from China to the West coast of the USA is around $.75 cents per pair..

Your shoes must be “Classified” according to the HTS or the USA “Harmonized Tariff Schedule” This is a huge book over 8 inches thick!  But you can use the PDF HERE or look the search from the USA HTS web site. to classify your shoes.  There are many sections for shoes, it’s complicated and can be a little daunting but I’m here to help.  For the common shoes types there are only a few HTS codes you need to know.    Now some the rules may seem a little nuts but that’s how it goes.    Why do Snowboarding boots have ZERO duty?   Because the Senator from Vermont knows Jake Burton and they figured it out.

 
https://vimeo.com/835921862

This online course will teach you the footwear classification rules, important HTS codes, and tariff regulations.

The Shoe Dog will tell you all about! 

Once you shoe is classified you can assign it’s HTS code to the shipping documents so the US customs officials can send you the bill.  Actually your freight forwarder will add this to your customs clearance invoice.   The HTS is a 10 digit code – like this  6402.19.05.30

6402.19.05.30 is for Men’s Golf shoes Imported at 6%  You can check for yourself here.

Shoe classification are based on material, function, gender, size, construction and it’s value. When reviewing a shoe you need to consider it’s majority material (over 51%).  Is it natural leather? or made from R/P “Rubber plastic”.    Leather shoes are 8.5% to 10% Duty (based on the FOB price).   So a suede leather skate shoe would be 8.5%.

The same design made from  R/P or synthetic materials would be 20% +.90 cents if it’s price is less than USD $12.50!   Or it’s more than $12.50 just 20%.

If you are a shoe designer, developer or Product manager need to know this stuff!   Maybe adding $.05 cents to a shoe price can save you +.90 cents in duty.

As a shoe designer or Product manager you should sit down with your import classification specialist and get to know how this works in detail.  When planning your product line designing duty efficient shoes can save your company big bucks and deliver less duty payments to the US government and more value to your customers!

ALL ACCESS PASS

ALL ACCESS PASS

Are you ready to supercharge your footwear career? With our exclusive All Access Pass, you’ll unlock the full potential of Shoemakers Academy’s online courses. Gain complete access to our extensive catalog. 
125 shoemaking lessons and over 35 hours of expert video instruction from none other than “The Shoe Dog” himself. Grab the All Access Pass and fast-track your way to success in the dynamic world of footwear!

See The All Access Pass