US product recalls fell in Q2 in 5 key industries

U.S. product recalls fell in the auto, consumer products, food and beverage, medical device and pharmaceutical industries in the second quarter, a new report shows.

A report from Sedgwick shows that the 788 layoffs in those industries represent a 13.3 percent decline from Q1 2024, which marked the highest single-quarter layoff total in more than five years.

However, the number of defective units rose from 129.6 million in Q1 2024 to 254.6 million in Q2 2024 across the five industries — the second-highest quarterly total in the past nine quarters, the Sedgwick report said.

The report shows that the number of car recalls decreased by 7.3% in Q2 2024 compared to Q1 2024.

Q2 recalls marked the second lowest quarter for affected units in over 10 years, with a total of 5 million vehicles recalled in Q2 2024.

Equipment was the most dominant cause of auto recalls in Q2 2024.

Equipment was linked to 42 events. Electrical systems were the second most common concern, cited in 38 recalls. Direction was third with 20 events.

Rollover prevention systems were the most common reason for car recalls by volume, with 1.66 million units affected in 12 events, according to Sedgwick.

Rising tariffs on Chinese imports are also playing a major role in the auto industry. Tariffs on steel and aluminum products will increase from 0%-7.5% to 25% in 2024, and the tariff on semiconductors will increase from 25% to 50% by 2025.

Consumer product recalls fell 6.5% to 86 in Q2 2024, while the number of defective units rose 67.3% from 23.4 million in Q1 to 39.1 million in Q2 , according to the report.

Sports and recreation accounted for the most withdrawals by product category in Q2 2024, with 25 events. Furniture and home decor was second with 13 withdrawals, and baby products was third with nine events.

Toys lead categories by volume of recalls, with 22.01 million units affected, mainly due to the risk of hazardous materials from liquid resin.

Personal care products were recalled with 8.46 million units, the second largest in volume – 8.26 million were for liquid laundry detergent packages that leaked, posing a risk to children.

Electronics was the third largest product category in Q2 with 3.91 million units recalled.

There were two electronics-related events involving more than one million units: a clothing steamer (1.60 million units) and rechargeable lights (1.24 million units), the report said.

Food and beverage recalls fell 11.9%, and total units recalled fell 68.5% from the first quarter. The main cause of recalls was undeclared allergens, according to the report.

There were 196.2 million defective units in the medical device industry in Q2, an increase of 267.3% from Q1 2024. In contrast, the number of recalls decreased from 296 in Q1 to 242 in Q2.

Pharmaceutical recalls fell from 112 in Q1 2024 to 93 in Q2. The number of defective units fell 51.2% to 4.5 million in Q2. About 173 different companies were involved in the medical device recalls for T2, the report said.