Beer Distributors NAICS 424810

Mar 20, 2026 - BPI Posts YoY Increase

• The February 2026 Beer Purchasers’ Index showed early signs of stabilization for beer distributors, the NBWA reports. An indicator of future demand, the BPI of 39 was a four-point improvement from February 2025 and even with January, representing the first year-over-year increase for overall BPI since January 2025. While still below the expansion threshold (50) and combined with an at-risk inventory reading of 47, the industry remains in a cautionary zone, indicating ongoing uncertainty for distributors. Segment performance was mixed, requiring careful portfolio management. Below-premium beer (52) entered expansion, and premium light (45) and cider (up YoY for 10 months) show relative strength. In contrast, imports (42), craft (19), premium regular (35), and FMB/seltzer (36) remain in contraction, signaling weaker demand in key categories. For beer distributors, this environment calls for strategic inventory alignment, focusing on stronger-performing segments while managing risk in declining categories.
• Michelob Ultra is now the top-selling beer in the US, overtaking Modelo Especial, CNBC reports. The light lager claimed the title of the best-selling beer in retail channels in the 52 weeks ended Sept. 14, parent company Anheuser-Busch announced, citing data from consumer research firm Circana. The beer was also the top seller in bars and restaurants, according to Nielsen IQ data for the 52 weeks ended July 12. Michelob Ultra’s ascent returns an Anheuser-Busch beer to the top spot. In 2023, the company’s Bud Light brand lost the title to Modelo amid a consumer backlash against the brand and growing cultural cachet for Modelo. Previously, Bud Light had held the title as the US’s top-selling beer for more than two decades. Modelo brewer Constellation Brands recently reported weaker demand from Hispanic consumers, a key segment of its customer base, per CNBC.

• The percentage of US adults who say they consume beer and other alcoholic beverages has fallen to 54%, the lowest level in Gallup’s nearly 90-year trend, the polling firm reported in August. Gallup’s annual Consumption Habits survey, conducted in July, found the figure fell to 62% in 2023 and to 58% in 2024, before reaching 54% today. The downward trend coincides with recent research indicating that any level of alcohol consumption may negatively affect health, a sharp reversal from previous recommendations that moderate drinking could offer some protective benefits. More than a third (38%) of US drinkers cite beer as the alcoholic beverage they consume most often, exceeding the 30% who name liquor and 29% who name wine. The survey also found that men are far more likely than women to reach for a beer (52% vs. 23%).
• Producer prices for beer, wine, and distilled alcoholic beverage merchant wholesalers inched up 0.5% in November compared to a year ago, after rising 5.3% in the previous November-versus-November annual comparison, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. At retail, the price of beer for home consumption rose 1.7% year over year in November, while the price for away-from-home beer consumption rose 1.1% over the same period, according to the Labor Department’s November 2025 Consumer Price Index report. Employment by beer and ale merchant wholesalers was flat YoY in November, while the average wage at beer distributors rose 4.4% over the same period to $28.24 per hour, pennies below its August 2025 high, BLS data show.