ABI Builds Huge Inventories in Q1

Dear Client:ABI's first quarter US STRs declined 2.6% in the quarter and ABI's US STWs grew by 2.1%, suggesting a huge inventory build "due to contingency planning in advance of labor negotiations," says ABI in its earnings release this morning. Distributors have been loudly reporting this inventory build to BBD for around six months (although other distributors equally complaining of shortages on certain SKUs, and even out-of-stocks on Bud Light kegs). A-B told distributors to expect those huge inventory gains