The National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) has just released the Beer Purchasers’ Index (BPI) for May 2021. The data shows a significant difference to the BPI in May 2020 which illustrated the serious impact of COVID-19 on the beer industry.
The “at-risk” inventory (inventory at risk of going out of code in the next 30 days) measure of 31 continues to remain much lower than the long-running average as out-of-stocks and supply disruptions continue to impact the industry.
NBWA Chief Economist Lester Jones stated:
“This month’s survey cycles the May 2020 survey, a month that saw dramatic shifts in consumer behaviour as the on-premise beer business was at a virtual standstill and off-premise business was booming. This index is the strongest reading over the past five surveys going back to 2015.”
BPI is the only forward-looking indicator for distributors to measure expected beer demand. The index surveys beer distributors’ purchases across different segments and compares them to previous years. A reading greater than 50 indicates the segment is expanding, while a reading below 50 indicates the segment is contracting.
Segments for May:
- The index for imports continued into expansion territory with a reading of 68 for May 2021. This is well above the 53 reading from May 2020.
- The craft index posted a strong reading of 65 for May 2021, compared to a reading of 42 in May 2020.
- The premium lights segment posted a reading of 64 and is slightly below the index of 69 from May 2020.
- Regular domestic beer segment’s index of 48 is below the May 2020 reading of 60.
- The below premium segment reading at 36, has seen a significant drop from its all-time high reading of 71 back in May 2020.
- The FMB/seltzer segment continued to outperform all other segments in May 2021 with a reading of 82, a few points below May 2020 reading of 90.
- The cider segment remains below 50, posting an index reading of 46 compared to last May’s reading of 31.
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