Sometimes bad news is good news – when it’s not as bad as expected. The Beer Institute estimated US beer shipments in April were down by 4.3% versus the same period last year – but that was a big improvement compared to March.
March shipments were down a whopping 13.6% compared to the same period last year, leading some to wonder if the double-digit downward trend would continue. Compared to March, the April results of -4.3% looks pretty good.
The year started off with high hopes as January and February posted a 2.6% and 9.5% increase respectively over last year. But then, March took a big tumble.
Beer shipments for the year-to-date, through April, are down 2.4%.