MillerCoors Q4 Shipments Down 8.9%; Depletions Down 5.1%

Dear Client: Fourth quarter results for 2018 Molson Coors are in. How'd MillerCoors finish out the year? U.S. brand volumes (depletions) dropped 5.1% during the quarter, "driven by lower volume in the premium light and economy segments." A bit slower than their Q3 reading for depletions, down 3.3%. MillerCoors' sales-to-wholesalers (shipments) declined 8.9%, "driven by lower brand volume as well as quarterly timing of wholesaler inventories." That's way off the 1.1% increase seen in Q3. Still, MillerCoors contends that "wholesaler