Lager cheaper by the can

Research by CoreProcess for The Can Makers industry body in the UK showed cans, because of their shape, used space more effectively on pallets, in trucks, in roll-cages and on shelf in-store.

Nick Gazzard of CoreProcess, estimated it was 11p per case more expensive to transport bottles than cans: "Cans come out as more efficient to move."

The bottled version of the leading beer brands used to command a price premium over cans but, said Gazzard, consumers now pay the same for a 24-pack of 330ml bottles as they do for the same number of 440ml cans. In order to generate the same profit as cans, retailers needed to take an extra 0.72% gross margin from the brewers.

The research, conducted with the co-operation of one leading supermarket, showed four-can packs were more cost efficient than four-bottle packs and the recent move to 18- and 20-packs did not impact on the efficiency of the cans.

Simon Gresty, chairman of The Can Makers, says the research was not a "glass bashing process" but the beer industry has long existed under the illusion glass bottles were as cheap to move through the supply chain as cans. The research, he said, proved this was not the case.