Steel, aluminum tariffs may cause beer prices to climb

TheStreet’s Conway Gittens brings you the biggest news of the day, including why beer may be getting more expensive.

Transcript

00:00There's a crushing sound reverberating across small craft breweries around America as the industry grapples with yet another challenge

00:08Tariffs since the beer is homegrown. It's not the ingredients. That's the problem

00:13It's the steel drums used to brew the beer and the aluminum cans which that beer goes into that are subject to across the board

00:2125% tariffs a spike in production costs due to the tariffs hits an industry that's already under strain

00:28craft brewers were forced to switch to cans during the pandemic as

00:32Drinking at bars and breweries dried up then supply hiccups forced can and bottle prices to go through the roof

00:39Then the craft beer craze seemed to wane with beer drinkers

00:43Now this a tariff on their most essential of items these confluence of events have brought craft breweries to their knees

00:512024 marked a turning point for the industry as more craft breweries closed than opened for the first time in two decades

01:00according to early sales data for 2025

01:0475% of all craft breweries sales come from beer sold in aluminum cans and where do the bulk of those cans come from?

01:12Canada says the Brewers Association a trade group representing small and independent brewers and while production costs are going up

01:21Inflation everywhere else in this economy means beer drinkers aren't willing to pay more leaving craft breweries

01:28unable to boost prices to recoup higher costs

01:33Speaking of inflation inflation reared its ugly head and investors are upset this Wednesday

01:38Consumer prices jumped half of 1% in January and up 3% from a year ago

01:44Both readings were hotter than anticipated

01:46With inflation heating up again Bank of America now believes there will be zero rate cuts this year

01:53by the Federal Reserve

01:56That'll do it for your daily briefing from the New York Stock Exchange. I'm Conway Gittins with the street