Brewer Shipments Off 6.4% in June; Imports Ease Lower

Brewers can be excused if they don't raise a glass to either domestic shipments in June, as estimated by the Beer Institute, or imports, as reported by the Census Bureau.

Estimates for domestic tax paid shipments for June 2023 are 15.1 million barrels, which is a decrease of 6.4% compared to June 2022 removals of 16,136,260, Beer Institute said..

• Estimates for the first half of 2023 are 77,155,792 barrels, down 5.9% compared to the first half of 2022.
• The second quarter was the biggest driver of those declines, down 8.1% compared to 2022.
• The TTB recently posted declines of 12.2% for May of 2023 compared to last year, which is a much bigger decline than BI's initial estimates reported last month. However, it is possible that TTB will revise that number, said Danelle Kosmal, BI vp-research.

Imports are a slightly better picture, reporting shipment volume down by only -0.9% compared to June 2022.

• Year-to-date trends are -0.8%.
• Mexican imported beer experienced another strong month, up 6.5% compared to June 2022. This results in year-to-date trends of 1.8% compared to 2022.
• Across packaging types, Mexican imported bottles grew 1.8%, cans +18.6, however, Mexican imported draft volume declined by 23.8%.
• Draft performance continues to be an area of concern for beer, even within Mexican imports.
• Total imported draft declined by 28.6% in June 2023 compared to June 2022.

Aside from Canada (+2.1%) and Germany (+6.7%), nearly all other countries experienced declines in volume for June, with Dutch imports down 30.2%, Ireland (-61.5%), Italy (-28.8%), and Belgium (-28.0%), BI reported