USA: July marks second consecutive moth of increased yoy beer shipments

July 2020 marked the second consecutive month of increased year-over-year shipments, according to the Beer Institute (BI), which shared unofficial estimates of domestic tax paid shipments compiled by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau (TTB), Brewbound reports.

On the heels of shipping 16.6 million barrels of beer in June 2020, U.S. brewers shipped 15.1 million barrels of beer in July, a 1.9% increase compared to July 2019.

The latest shipment data again comes with an asterisk: The BI noted that estimates for March through July will likely be revised moving forward as the TTB has postponed for up to 90 days reporting requirements for filing and payment due dates on or before June 30.

As such, March 2020�s shipment data has been revised to include 200,000 additional barrels, which moved the month�s shipments into the black, with an increase of 130,000 barrels, up 09.% compared to March 2019. Previous estimates had March 2020�s numbers declining 0.5% (or 70,000 barrels).

Through the first seven months of 2020, U.S. brewers have shipped nearly 97.7 million barrels of beer, a decline of 0.7% (or 707,325 barrels). That�s a marked improvement from the early read on previous months.

As the numbers currently stand, U.S. brewers have shipped fewer barrels in four of the first seven months. The largest declines occurred in April (-700,000 barrels) and May (-1 million barrels), which coincides with the shutdown of the on-premise channel across the U.S. caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

August 2020 shipment numbers are slated to be released on September 24.