Breweries NAICS 312120

Aug 13, 2025 - Tariffs, Economy Testing Big Brewer

• Molson Coors, the nation’s second-largest brewery by production behind Anheuser-Busch, lost market share as sales volumes declined in the latest quarter, MarketWatch reported in August. The company blamed the recent weakness on economic pressures - including aluminum tariffs - that are expected to keep hurting the beer industry and beer drinkers. “As a result of the anticipated ongoing macroeconomic impacts on the industry, our lower-than-expected U.S. share performance, and higher-than-expected indirect tariff impacts on the pricing of aluminum, in particular the Midwest Premium pricing, we have adjusted our 2025 full-year top and bottom-line guidance," said CEO Gavin Hattersley. The brewer’s net sales are projected to fall 3% to 4% from last year, which assumes that the US beer industry will decline 4% to 6% in the second half of 2025, compared with a previous estimate of a decline of about 3% for the April-to-December period, according to MarketWatch.
• US craft brewers are suffering under tariffs imposed by the Trump administration, the CATO Institute reported in July. With canned beer accounting for about 75% of packaged craft beer by volume, craft brewers are especially sensitive to tariffs on aluminum and steel imports imposed on all countries by the Trump administration, which doubled to 50% in June. Most craft breweries are small and less able to absorb rising costs than larger breweries. Notably, the producer price index for aluminum can manufacturing rose 1.5% from March to May. “Costs for kegs, brewhouses, tanks, and even building infrastructure are climbing fast,” according to the Brewers Association. Moreover, switching to bottles is not an easy fix and bottles are hard to procure as big brewers switch to them crowding out smaller buyers. Ingredient prices, including specialty hops, are also rising due to tariffs.

• A new study has found polyfluoroalkyl substances in beer brewed in the US, the Brewers Association reports. The study – Hold My Beer: The Linkage between Municipal Water and Brewing Location on PFAS in Popular Beverages – focused on areas of the country where PFAS compounds are found in high concentrations in drinking water. Due to their “forever” nature, these chemicals can easily be transferred into beer if they are present in a brewery’s water source. According to the study, “approximately 18% of breweries operating in the US are located within zip codes served by public water supplies with detectable PFAS in drinking water.” Notably, perfluorosulfonic acids, particularly PFOS, were frequently detected, with PFOA or PFOS above the EPA’s Maximum Contaminant Limits in some beers. Some of the highest PFAS levels and most chemically diverse samples came from beers brewed in North Carolina.
• Producer prices for breweries rose 1% in June compared to a year ago, after rising 1.7% in the previous June-versus-June annual comparison, according to the latest US Bureau of Labor Statistics data. Intense competition in the crowded beer market, competition from other alcoholic and nonalcoholic beverages, and declining beer consumption – at its lowest level in over a generation – are keeping a lid on prices even as brewers face rising costs. Employment by breweries, wineries, and distilleries grew 5.7% year over year in May. While down from its peak last summer, employment by the industry is at historically high levels, having grown 100% over the past decade, far outpacing growth in overall private employment, BLS data shows.