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
January saw the highest BPI reading since July 2025 and a 14-point jump from December. All segments except Cider posted higher month-over-month readings, led by the first Below Premium reading of 50 in over a year.
The combination of index readings for at-risk inventory (45) and BPI (39) moves the industry from contractionary to cautionary positioning to start the new year.
Looking across the segments for January:
- The imports index at 44 is 17-points lower than January 2025 and eight points higher than December 2025.
- The craft index at 21 is five points lower than January 2025 and seven points higher than December 2025.
- The premium lights index at 38 is 11-points lower than January 2025 and 14-points higher than December 2025.
- The premium regular index at 38 is seven points lower than January 2025 and 14-points higher than December 2025.
- The below premium index at 50 is six points lower than January 2025 and 10-points higher than December 2025.
- The FMB/seltzer index at 43 is three points lower than January 2025 and 12-points higher than December 2025.
- The cider segment at 42 is 11-points higher than January 2025 and two points lower than December 2025.
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!