The final Beer Purchasers’ Index (BPI) of 2024 revealed “a slightly cautious outlook for distributor sentiment” heading into the new year, according to the National Beer Wholesalers Association (NBWA).
The NBWA’s monthly survey of distributor sentiment for December returned index readings of 48 for both the BPI and at-risk inventory. The NBWA noted that the December 2024 BPI reading of 48 also marked a four-point improvement compared to the December 2023 reading.
As a reminder, an index over 50 denotes expansion while falling below the 50 mark shows contraction.
December 2024’s numbers were also below the November 2024 BPI reading of 50 and the at-risk inventory reading of 49, which showed a more neutral sentiment. NBWA chief economist and VP of analytics called this “a rare bullseye that leaves the industry neither bullish nor bearish for the end of the year.”
Nevertheless, the December 2024 BPI remained below the index’s 10-year average for the month but showed improvement compared to the last three years.
Here’s the breakdown by segment for December, with four segments posting higher year-over-year (YoY) comps:
- Craft remained in contraction with an index of 30 and mirrored the December 2023 reading;
- Import volumes continued to expand with a reading of 67, but only a slight YoY decline of one point;
- Premium lights’ index of 53 was three points higher than the December 2023 reading;
- Premium regular declined six points YoY with a reading of 42;
- Below premium posted the biggest improvement with an 18-point YoY gain with an index of 45;
- FMBs and hard seltzers posted the second largest gain YoY, increasing 10 points to 45;
- And cider gained six points YoY to a reading of 38.