Sedwick: US Product Recalls on Pace to Hit 6-Year High

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, according to the report, which was released on Thursday.

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The report shows defective units rose 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.

Related: Sedgwick: U.S. Product Recalls Dropped in Q2 in 5 Key Industries

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.