We begin an important year for beer, waiting to see if sales will continue to decline, or mount a recovery. Early signs are mixed and seem to indicate that beer is still soft, with the craft category continuing to be down.
There is not a lot of data to go on this early in the year, but the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA) monthly Beer Purchasers’ Index (BPI) is one barometer. Overall ordering levels by beer wholesalers in February recorded a BPI reading of 48, up from the January reading of 43 but it remains in contraction territory.
An index of 50+ in a segment means volumes in that segment are expanding and an index of below 50 indicates that volumes in that segment are contracting.
The craft BPI index of 22 for February 2024 continues to signal contraction in the category and is significantly lower than the February 2023 reading of 34.
Imports were the strongest with an index of 68, six points higher than the February 2023 reading of 62.
See the BPI results for all categories here.