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

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 recently released report.

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 the third quarter, 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.