If the pace of product recalls continues in the fourth quarter, the number will reach a six-year high by the end of the year, a new report from Sedgwick shows.
Year-to-date there have been 2,454 product recalls across five key industries, , which was released on Thursday.
Defective units increased to 580.4 million for the period, up from 528.7 million in the same period in 2023—a 9.8% year-over-year increase that was primarily driven by growth in three industries: medical device, which rose 134.5%; U.S. Department of Agriculture food, up 112.7%; and consumer product, up 38.5%.
In Q3, both recalls and defective units fell from the previous quarter, but that trend typically reverses during Q4 due to year-end consumer behavior and other external factors, according to Sedgwick.
Other findings in the report include:
- Automotive recalls fell by 3.3% in Q3, from 243 in Q2 to 235. However, the number of affected units rose 43.6% quarter-over-quarter to 7.14 million.
- The consumer product industry saw recalls fall 20.9%, from 86 in Q2 to 68 in Q3. Defective units also fell 73.9% from 39.07 million in Q2 to 10.18 million.
- In the food and drink sector, the U.S. FDA recorded a 5.9% drop in recalls to 111 events and a 52.2% reduction in affected units to 4.62 million. In contrast, USDA recalls rose 50.0% in Q3, with affected units surging by 5,366.7%, primarily due to a major recall for Listeria contamination.
- The medical device industry was the only other sector to see more recalls in Q3 than in Q2. There were 262 events, an 8.3% increase over the 242 events in Q2.
- Pharmaceutical recalls dropped 24.7% to 70 events in Q3. Conversely, defective units rose 80.2% quarter-over-quarter to 8.19 million.
Topics USA
Was this article valuable?
Here are more articles you may enjoy.