2025 Top 100 Importers & Exporters

Fewer drinkers keep lid on US wine and spirits imports

By Michael Angell

Higher tariffs on US imports of wine and other alcoholic beverages is a nightcap the industry doesn’ t need given a broader multi-year decline in drinking among Americans. After draining down inventories in 2023, wine and spirits shipments into the US rebounded last year, but volumes remain below levels prior to the COVID-19 pandemic amid a secular downturn in alcohol consumption, forcing retailers and wholesalers to be more selective in which products to stock.

Containerized imports of alcoholic beverages rose 12.8 % in 2024, according to PIERS, a sister product of the Journal of Commerce within S & P Global. But that growth came after an 18 % plunge in 2023, and volumes were the second lowest in six years of data and down 6.4 % from 2019.

Alison Leavitt, managing director of the Wine and Spirits Shippers Association, told the Journal of Commerce last year’ s growth reflects some restocking after importers and distributors reduced a pandemic-era oversupply throughout 2023. Census Bureau data shows monthly wholesale US alcoholic beverage inventories peaking at just over $ 26 billion in March 2023, with inventories hovering at around $ 25 billion since then.

However, it appears unlikely distributors would build up inventories in the short term, she said. Merchant wholesalers of alcoholic beverages saw annual sales peak at $ 191.1 billion in 2022 before falling to $ 185.4 billion in 2024.

Leavitt said the drop in sales reflects a trend of some consumers eschewing alcohol for cannabis, as well as a lower drinking rates among members of Generation Z.

“ There’ s a decline in overall consumption, in all categories,” Leavitt said.“ The decline is a factor in shipping volumes. The US is a dead market for most categories.”

Leavitt said there are a few categories that are still growing at a decent clip, such as Sauvignon Blancs from New Zealand, but those volumes are not enough to make up for the declines in“ Old World” wine and spirits from Europe, Leavitt said.

The decline is reflected in the long-term growth trends for various US gateways. The Port of New York and New Jersey, the first port of call for most European wine and spirits imports, has seen a 3 % average annual decline in such shipments since 2019. Even South American wines from Chile and Argentina appear to be taking a hit, with alcoholic beverage imports into the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach down 4.2 % per year on average since 2019.

The Florida ports of Miami and Jacksonville have bucked this trend. Miami has seen five-year average annual growth of 4.5 % while Jacksonville has seen 17 % growth. Leavitt said these numbers reflect the healthy demand in Florida’ s cruise industry, which continues to

Wholesalers saw alcoholic beverage sales fall to $ 185.4 billion in 2024 from $ 191.1 billion in 2022. Shutterstock. com rebound after the pandemic, along with alcohol reexported to Caribbean resorts.

“ The cruise and duty-free trade came back strong after COVID, and Miami is the hub for that,” Leavitt said.

Trump’ s ongoing trade war will further scramble the outlook for alcoholic beverage imports in 2025, Leavitt said. Most European wines only had a small duty rate under previous administrations.

Constellation Brands, the bottler of Corona and other Mexican beer brands, said on an April 10 earnings call that the 25 % tariff on imported beer and empty aluminum cans will affect earnings results for 2025. Constellation said the tariffs will also affect imports of New Zealand and Italy.

With a 20 % base tariff on all imported goods from the EU, along with the threat of further reciprocal tariffs, wine and spirits distributors’ already thin margins are getting squeezed even more, Leavitt added.

“ The tariff issues have created a lot of uncertainty,” she said.“ Companies are looking seriously at their products and wondering,‘ Do I order this?’”

email: michael. angell @ spglobal. com

Alcoholic beverages

IMPORTS

433,432 TEUS

↑12.8 %

Change from 2023

↓1.3 %

5-year compound annual growth rate

Alcoholic beverage shipments rebounding after 2023 crash

Containerized US alcohol drink imports, in laden TEUs, with year-over-year change

TEU volume

50,000

40,000

10,000 30,000

20,000

40 % 30 % 20%

10%-40 % 0 %

-10 %

Source: PIERS, S & P Global

TEU Year-over-year % change

Year-over-year % change

© 2025 S & P Globa

40 Journal of Commerce | May 5, 2025 www. joc. com