Anheuser-Busch - Competitors

Anheuser-Busch Competition

Now Viewing Anheuser-Busch's competition in: Breweries (primary)

Recent Developments

Domestic Shipments Moderate - US breweries sold an estimated 13.5 million barrels of beer to distributors in January 2008, a 1.1 percent rise from a year earlier, according to the Beer Institute. January sales growth slowed from a 4.7 percent increase the previous year. For full year 2007, shipments slightly exceeded 180 million barrels, up 1.4 percent from 2006.

Brewers Raise Price - Brewers are asking higher prices across all product segments. The producer price of canned beer increased 2.2 percent in February 2008; bottled beer rose 1.4 percent; and barrel and keg beer climbed 5.1. Brewers raised beer prices in part to cover the steeply rising costs of raw materials, such as barley and wheat, and bottles and cans and pass the cost down the supply chain to customers.

Brewers' Exports Explode - US breweries are enjoying rising foreign demand for beer and malt beverages. Exports skyrocketed 81.3 percent to exceed $72 million in January 2008 compared to the previous year. While exports remain a small portion of overall revenue, the growth is a positive indicator that foreign sales opportunities may be expanding.

Competitive Landscape

The major driver of demand is consumer leisure activity. The profitability of individual companies depends on marketing, distribution, and operational efficiency. Large companies have advantages in marketing and sales, production economies of scale, and influence with distributors. Small companies can compete effectively by developing specialty products and serving a local or regional market. Average annual revenue per worker is $625,000, but is typically around $140,000 in small companies.

Full Industry Overview For Breweries

Breweries Industry Forecast

from Hoover's/D&B subsidiary First Research

The output of US breweries is forecast to grow at an annual compounded rate of 3.1 percent between 2007 and 2012.

Breweries Growth Steadies

First Research forecasts are based on INFORUM forecasts that are licensed from the Interindustry Economic Research Fund, Inc. (IERF) in College Park, MD. INFORUM's "interindustry-macro" approach to modeling the economy captures the links between industries and the aggregate economy.