Beer producers shipped an estimated 17.5 million barrels of beer to wholesalers in May, a -4% decline (approximately 730,000 barrels) versus May 2022, according to the Beer Institute.
An estimated 78.2 million barrels have been shipped year-to-date, declining -2.3% (more than 1.8 million barrels) versus the same period in 2022.
Eleven states recorded positive shipment growth year-over-year (YoY), including New Jersey (+6.7%), Connecticut (+3.7%), Utah (4.4%), California (+0.7%) and Pennsylvania (+0.4%). Smaller beer producing states with YoY growth include Arkansas (+10.7%), Indiana (+1.2%), Iowa (+2%), Maine (+1%), New Hampshire (+5.2%) and Vermont (+4.5%).
The positive growth for California follows several months of YoY declines, which led to California falling in March to the No. 2 beer producing state by volume in the U.S., and Texas taking the No. 1 spot. Year-to-date (YTD) through May, California brewers have shipped an estimated 8.01 million barrels of beer, a -6% decline versus the same five-month period in 2022.
Texas brewers have shipped nearly 8.53 million barrels of beer to wholesalers YTD, a -0.5% decline versus the same period in 2022. Texas’ YTD shipments remain above California for the third consecutive month, despite a -8.4% in May versus May 2022. BI VP of research Danelle Kosmal cited Texas and Florida (-7.5% YoY) as the largest drivers of the country’s overall declines in May.
Fifteen states’ YTD shipments were up versus the previous period:
- New York (+0.7%, to nearly 3.65 million barrels);
- North Carolina (+3.5%, to more than 2.64 million barrels);
- Virginia (+1.2%, to more than 1.95 million barrels);
- New Jersey (+1.8%, to more than 1.6 million barrels);
- Indiana (+8.1%, to nearly 1.59 million barrels);
- Iowa (+0.5%, to 860,400 barrels);
- Kansas (+1.6%, to 718,073 barrels);
- Arkansas (+2.8%, to 731,108 barrels);
- Connecticut (+0.7%, to 601,264 barrels);
- Utah (+3%, to 583,000 barrels);
- Idaho (+0.3%, to 428,155 barrels);
- Montana (+0.4%, to 402,402 barrels);
- South Dakota (+1.4%, to 299,000 barrels);
- Delaware (+0.5%, to 261,451 barrels);
- And Wyoming (+1%, to 160,170 barrels).
The BI also released the May tax paids and imports reports. Read Brewbound’s reporting on those numbers here.
The BI’s economic reports for June are scheduled to be released August 9.