Post by M. Hawbaker on Aug 30, 2020 10:33:14 GMT
Demand for cans is booming during the coronavirus pandemic, propelling can makers to boost manufacturing capacity to prevent shortages and capitalize on a trend they bet will stick.
As bars and restaurants closed across the U.S., consumers rushed to buy large packs of drinks—typically sold in cans—in supermarkets, say executives. Sales of canned food also jumped.
That is accelerating a continuing shift in favor of aluminum drinking cans, which were already taking share from glass and plastic bottles. Manufacturers attribute their growing popularity to cans being lighter and more robust than glass, and having higher recycling rates than glass and plastic. The growing popularity of hard seltzers, usually packaged in cans, has been another factor.
Miller Lite owner Molson Coors Beverage Co. TAP.A -4.60% last month said it had lost market share in the U.S., partly because it had to suspend production of some canned beers. It said it was struggling to find enough tall cans for Coors Light and expects shortages of 12-ounce cans to persist in the third quarter.
As bars and restaurants closed across the U.S., consumers rushed to buy large packs of drinks—typically sold in cans—in supermarkets, say executives. Sales of canned food also jumped.
That is accelerating a continuing shift in favor of aluminum drinking cans, which were already taking share from glass and plastic bottles. Manufacturers attribute their growing popularity to cans being lighter and more robust than glass, and having higher recycling rates than glass and plastic. The growing popularity of hard seltzers, usually packaged in cans, has been another factor.
Miller Lite owner Molson Coors Beverage Co. TAP.A -4.60% last month said it had lost market share in the U.S., partly because it had to suspend production of some canned beers. It said it was struggling to find enough tall cans for Coors Light and expects shortages of 12-ounce cans to persist in the third quarter.
“Every company that makes anything in the 12-ounce can has been challenged to some degree by the global can shortage,”’ said Chief Executive Gavin Hattersley on an investor call. He flagged demand in the U.S. as being especially strong after restaurants and bars closed. “Demand for kegs in the U.S. went to zero and conversely demand for cans went through the roof.”
