About the Beer Purchasers’ Index
By: Lester Jones, NBWA Vice President, Analytics and Chief Economist
The NBWA Beer Purchasers’ Index (BPI) is an informal monthly statistical release giving distributors a timely and reliable indicator of industry beer purchasing activity. BPI is the only forward-looking indicator for the industry to measure expected beer demand (one month forward) in the marketplace. Similar to the widely recognized Purchasing Managers’ Index, the BPI is a net-rising index and a leading indicator of industry performance based on survey responses from participating beer purchasers. The index surveys beer distributors’ purchases across different segments and compares them to that of previous years’ purchases. A reading greater than 50 indicates the segment is expanding, while a reading below 50 indicates the segment is contracting.
The Latest Data
The August BPI reading of 40 marks a 13-point improvement from August 2025 and is in line with the past three years’ end-of-summer readings (27, 40, 38). Coupled with a low At-Risk Inventory (ARI) reading of 45, these results place the beer industry in a “cautionary” position as it closes out the summer selling season.
Compared to August 2025, all but two segments recorded higher year-over-year readings along with continued lower ARI readings. This is the first time that Cider has posted a higher reading than Imports in the history of the Beer Purchasers’ Index survey.
Looking across the segments for August:
- The cider segment at 44 is five points higher than August 2025 but four points lower than July 2026. Cider also recorded the highest reading across all segments.
- The FMB/seltzer index at 42 is three points higher than August 2025 and 13 points lower than July 2026.
- The below premium index at 40 is five points higher than August 2025 and 15 points lower than July 2026.
- The premium lights index at 40 is four points higher than August 2025 and 12 points lower than July 2026.
- The imports index at 40 is three points lower than August 2025 and 11 points lower than July 2026.
- The premium regular index at 31 is three points lower than August 2025 and 11 points lower than July 2026.
- The craft index at 16 is two points higher than August 2025 and ten points lower than July 2026.
Beer Distributors
Please sign up to participate and receive the first and only advance notice of expectations for increasing or decreasing sales. Complete the form below using your company’s primary beer purchaser’s contact information. For additional information, please email bpi@nbwa.org.
Beer Distributor Expectations Sign Up
Sign up to participate and receive the first and only advance notice of expectations for increasing or decreasing sales!