Athletic wear giant, Nike plans to increase its orders for footwear and apparel seven per cent over the next six months and will turn to greater use of air freight to “meet the tremendous growth in orders” for the fall, it said recently. Nike is traditionally a major user of ocean shipping and the switch to greater use of air freight will drive up costs and cut into margins, pressuring the company to tighten its supply chainas sales grow.

“We’re managing the supply chain a lot tighter, reducing discounts and closeouts, increasing our closeout margins at the same time managing inventory, as well as we ever have,” Nike president and CEO Mark Parker said. Nike’s inventories declined 13.4 per cent during the year as the company extended a strategy of lean manufacturing and distribution.