19.8 percent

Year-over-year decline in shipments of freezers for October 2009, according to data in the January 2010 issue of Appliance Magazine. That's a big turnaround from 2008, when freezers were the lone bright spot among major appliances: Stand-alone freezers were the only appliance whose shipments rose in 2008; shipments of all major appliances declined 8.9 percent that year.

The thinking, as we noted in "By the Numbers: Freezers Sales Rose in 2008, Only Major Appliance Not to Drop," was that American consumers were getting new freezers to accommodate the food they were buying in bulk as a way to save money.

This connection between the drop in freezer shipments and possible signs of an economic recovery is admittedly tenuous. Perhaps everyone who wanted or needed a freezer has bought one already. Or maybe consumers are waiting on the sidelines for the $300 million cash for clunkers for appliances program to start in their state so they can get a rebate on a freezer. (More than 20 states are offering cash-for-clunkers rebates on freezers. Find out which products are eligible for a rebate in your state.)