Some 86,918,304 gallons of beer were imported into the U.S. in September, a 1.7% increase from a year earlier, the Beer Institute reports. Year to date, beer shipments to the U.S. are up 1.5%.
Michael Ulrich, chief economist, Beer Institute notes that at this point a year ago, year-to-date totals were up 5.1% compared to 2017.
“Thus far in 2019 all of the net growth in imported beer has come from aluminum cans. Beer imported in both glass bottles and in kegs is in decline year-to-date,” he says.
Mexican imports outpaced imports from other countries again in September, gaining 2.3 share points within the import segment. But the volume of beer imported from Netherlands decreased by 16% in September and is now down 7.1% year-to-date.
The September import volumes bring total U.S. beer supply to down 1.4% year-to-date. Imports continue to outpace domestic beer sales, which are currently down 2% through September.
The volume of beer exported from the U.S. declined at double-digit rates for the tenth consecutive month in September. Nearly all of the loss in volume is from beer exported to Mexico. Although Mexican demand for American beer brands remains high, a large percentage of these brands’ production has moved to Mexico, where it is being produced locally rather than being imported from the U.S.