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.

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 percent year-over-year increase that was primarily driven by growth in three industries: medical device, which rose 134.5 percent; U.S. Department of Agriculture food, up 112.7 percent; and consumer product, up 38.5 percent.

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 percent in Q3, from 243 in Q2 to 235. However, the number of affected units rose 43.6 percent quarter-over-quarter to 7.14 million.

• The consumer product industry saw recalls fall 20.9 percent, from 86 in Q2 to 68 in Q3. Defective units also fell 73.9 percent from 39.07 million in Q2 to 10.18 million.

• In the food and drink sector, the U.S. FDA recorded a 5.9 percent drop in recalls to 111 events and a 52.2 percent reduction in affected units to 4.62 million. In contrast, USDA recalls rose 50.0 percent in Q3, with affected units surging by 5,366.7 percent, 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 percent increase over the 242 events in Q2.

• Pharmaceutical recalls dropped 24.7 percent to 70 events in Q3. Conversely, defective units rose 80.2 percent quarter-over-quarter to 8.19 million.