LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – The aluminum shortage is causing a crunch in supply for breweries across the nation, and one Las Vegas small business said it’s left plenty of other small businesses scrounging for cans.
“With the aluminum shortage that’s been occurring, it’s been a little bit challenging. Whatever’s left down at the bottom, we kind of have to grab,” said Jason Taylor of Nevada Brew Works, who deals with a mobile canner who gives him extras from surplus.
The shortage of cans is a predicament for thousands of breweries across the United States, competing with major suppliers in the midst of a global aluminum shortage.
In China, the supply chain throughout the pandemic has been rocked by COVID-19 shutdowns of factories coupled with pollution crackdowns.
Taylor said breweries increasingly turned to canning to make a profit during the pandemic, especially when many bars faced shutdowns. Taylor still relies on to-go orders for various beers.
“We do quite a bit of to-go sales. It’s important to be able to have that option available. And for small businesses like ourselves, we’re not able to purchase a whole truckload. A truckload of cans would be in the neighborhood of 200,000 cans at a time,” he said.
While glass is more expensive for beer sales, aluminum is catching up in price. Taylor expects more breweries could turn to glass in the future.
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