Shipments of beer and beerlike beverages declined 5.2 percent in November from a year earlier to 34.37 million cases for the first fall in two months, data from five major brewers showed Wednesday.
The brewers traced the decline partly to falls in temperatures from the middle of the month.
Cumulative shipments of beer and beerlike drinks from January to November slipped 1.1 percent from the same period a year earlier, making it certain that shipments of these beverages for the whole of 2013 will mark the ninth consecutive yearly decrease.
By category, regular beer shipments slid 5.5 percent in November to 17.57 million cases. Although consumption at eateries was brisk, sales for household consumption were anemic, the brewers said.
Shipments of "happoshu" low-malt beer dived 9.6 percent to 4.48 million cases. Shipments of low-priced "third-category beer" decreased 3.0 percent to 12.31 million cases.