Imports Lead NBWA Beer Purchasers Index Improvement

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.

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