Good afternoon,

Linked below is the Domestic Tax Paid Estimate for September 2019.

Here are a few key findings:

• We estimate consumer retail spending on domestically produced beer increased 3% during September 2019.
• Trade-up (increased spending on a smaller volume of beer) continues to drive softness in domestic beer performance, but a confluence of mitigating factors led to domestic volume growth during September.  As a result, domestic beer shipment volume was up 1.6% in raw terms.
• During September, many distributors had to rebuild inventories, which had been drawn down during August, resulting in stronger than expected shipment trends.
• September benefited from weather that was warmer and drier than is typical for the month.
• September’s performance also benefited from one additional selling day compared to September 2018.  September’s domestic shipment trend was down 3.2%, after adjusting for the change.

If you have any questions, please contact Michael Uhrich, the Beer Institute's Chief Economist, at muhrich@beerinstitute.org.

Cheers,

Jim McGreevy
President and CEO