As the summer draws to a close ahead of the Labor Day holiday it appears that Americans’ overall appetite for in the early summer were broadly unchanged, and tastes shifted. Total imports in June increased just 0.3% on a year earlier, Panjiva data shows. The number one supplier, Mexico, saw a 2.6% increase, after a weak start to the second quarter. Shipments of beer from Belgium and the U.K. dropped (by 39.3% and 7.2% respectively), while beers from Germany increased 43.4%.

Chart segments U.S. beer imports by country of origin. Bubble size indicates relative scale of imports in litres. Purple bubble indicates U.S. beer exports. Source: Panjiva

While June is normally the peak import month, demand has recovered over the summer. Seaborne data for July shows a recovery of 13.0% on a year earlier in the total, and by as much as 17.2% on a pro-rata basis in August.

Chart segments U.S. beer imports by country of origin. Last two months based on rate of change from seaborne shipment data. Source: Panjiva

Mexican beer exports also accelerated globally in July. Growth of 17.0% on a year earlier was the third straight month of growth, and the fastest rate of increase since November. Restructuring within production facilities ownership meant that Constellation Brands (producer of Corona, Modelo and Pacifico) climbed 31.4%, while AB InBev saw a 44.4% drop. Heineken has seen a recovery, expanding 31.9% after a 1.1% slide in May.

Data segments Mexican exports of beers by ownership company. Note Extrade was split as part of an antitrust settlement in 2013    Source: Panjiva