Supply Chain Research

The annual Oktoberfest held in Munich, Germany has spawned imitators globally but hasn’t prevented a stagnation in German beer exports – growth was just 1% on a year earlier to $1.4 billion. Changing beer tastes in the U.S. has been a major driver with a 30% drop in the 12 months to August 31 after a year earlier. The recent decline has been led by AB InBev (Becks) whose seaborne shipments to the U.S. from Germany fell 43% in the three months to August 31 vs. a year earlier. Specialty brands have done better with Radeberger and Weihenstephan seeing a 34% and 12% surge in shipments respe...