Shipments vs. Depletions

Question: Why do you focus on volume entering distribution?

Answer: The source of our data is varied government reports at both the federal and state level. These reports primarily focus on tax collections which tend to occur when goods are shipped from a producer to a distributor. We believe this is a good measurement of demand in the marketplace. As everyone who has been involved in the industry knows, over time, shipments equal depletions which ultimately equal consumer take-away. Any discrepancy between shipments and depletions results in a change to inventory in the market. Obviously there are fluctuations on a month to month or quarter to quarter basis but generally on a rolling twelve month basis the overall inventory in distribution channels varies minimally.