National Beer Wholesalers Association‘s Beer Purchasers Index showed improvement last month, led by imports which were strongly in expansion territory with a reading of 70, only slightly below the year-earlier reading of 74. Premium lights also signalled expansion with a reading of 52, but that was below April 2021’s reading of 69. (Any reading of 50 or higher signals expansion.)
That was all the good news in the latest report.
- The craft index at 48 is significantly below last April’s reading of 64.
- The premium regular segment index is at 38, which is significantly below the April 2021 reading of 56.
- The below premium segment is at 37, well below the April 2021 reading of 51.
- The FMB/seltzer category took another big hit, falling to 40 in April 2022 from the April 2021 reading of 90.
- Finally, the cider segment remains below 50 with a reading of 33 in April 2022, compared to the April 2021 reading of 44.
NBWA noted that for the fourth month in a row, the beer industry continues to revert to pre-pandemic trends. The April 2022 BPI has a “total beer” reading of 55 and an “at-risk” inventory reading of 47. This combination of readings is an improvement over the first three months (Q1) with “at-risk” inventories falling below 50 as the industry heads into the second quarter.