The National Beer Wholesalers Association‘s Beer Purchasers Index in May soared to 80 from 64 a year earlier.
“This month’s survey cycles the May 2020 survey, a month that saw dramatic shifts in consumer behavior as the on-premise beer business was at a virtual standstill and off-premise business was booming,” said NBWA Chief Economist Lester Jones. “This index is the strongest reading over the past five surveys going back to 2015,” he added.
The “at-risk” inventory (inventory at risk of going out of code in the next 30 days) measure of 31 continues to remain well below the long-running average as out-of-stocks and supply disruptions continue to impact the industry.