U.S. brewers have now shipped fewer barrels of beer in nine of 11 months this year, with the November 2022 domestic tax paid estimate down -4% compared to November 2021, according to the Beer Institute, citing the latest figures from the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB).
Brewers shipped 12 million barrels in November, a 502,569-barrel decline compared to November 2021.
Year-to-date shipments have declined -4.1% year-over-year (YoY). The 149,263,330 barrels shipped through November 2022 marks a more than 6.3 million-barrel decline YoY compared to the 155,569,619 barrels shipped by this time last year.
The only positive months of shipments in 2022 were March (+1.5%) and August (+2.4%).
The year started off with the steepest decline in January (-11.8%) followed by an -8.2% decline in February. Following the March bump for St. Patrick’s Day and March Madness, a return to the red followed in April (-7.1%), May (-3.6%), June (-3.8%) and July (-5.5%) before a brief August reprieve. September (-0.9%) and October (-5.3%) rounded out the declines.
The December 2022 tax paid estimate, plus full-year overview, is expected on February 2, 2023.