The United States Brewing Industry and Miller Brewing Company Trends at National, State, and Local Levels 1972 to 1990

Abstract

This paper is a study of different aspects and trends of the patterns of sale of the brewing industry in the United States from 1972 to 1990. The data in this study was arranged in such a way so that trends in various areas can be evaluated and compared to other segments of the United States brewing industry. The segments of the United States brewing industry that are used in comparison to one another are as follows: (1) United States brewing industry; (2) Miller Brewing Company; (3) Michigan beer industry; (4) Miller Brewing Co., Michigan; and (5) L&L Beverage of Benton Harbor. After organizing the data and drawing on comparisons, some basic trends and conclusions have been found. The brewing industry was very prosperous, in terms of growth, throughout the 1970's for most brewers, brands, distributors, and states, but as 1980 came around, the brewing industry began to see many changes. United States beer sales began to flatten out or even fall, as did Miller Brewing Company sales. The state of Michigan was hit much harder than the nation as a whole as sales have dropped drastically, due in part to the legislation of government laws that are contrary to beer industry growth. Within Michigan, Miller sales are lower now than sales figures for 1980, and L&L sales have been very stagnant. Also contributing to slow or decreased sales in Michigan and L&L Beverage is the flat growth in population, brought about by the movement of industrial jobs out of Michigan. One brewer, Anheuser-Busch, managed to fight its way through these tough times, and firmly stand high above the rest as America's largest brewer. But another bright spot has emerged with 1990's brewery statistics. In looking at tables 2-5, 1990 shows a larger growth percentage for all tables than of recent years past. Although the United States beer sales of the nineteen-nineties can not be evaluated yet, the statistics of the year 1990 are a welcome change from the previous decade.