Dean Foods, America's largest milk producer, is 2019's 100th default

Dean Foods, the largest dairy company in the U.S., filed for bankruptcy this week, bringing the total number of global corporate defaults this year to 100.

The big picture: Despite having one of the fastest growing economies in the industrialized world, the U.S. has accounted for 70% of companies defaulting or seeking bankruptcy protection in 2019, according to the latest corporate default tally from ratings agency S&P.

• Colorado-based manufacturer APC Automotive Technologies also went into default along with Delaware's Dura Automotive Systems, Pennsylvania-based retailer Destination Maternity Corp. and one "confidential issuer," S&P notes.

What they're saying: "The U.S. makes up the overwhelmingly largest percentage of this year's default tally," says Sudeep Kesh, head of S&P Global Credit Markets Research.

• "The global 12-month trailing speculative-grade default rate has increased in 2019, to 2.3% in September from 2% in January, largely due to an increase in U.S. defaults," the report adds.

Of note: Bankruptcy-related defaults have increased this year, reaching a global total of 28 — already the second-highest number of bankruptcy-related defaults since 2009.

• The oil/gas and retail/restaurants sectors lead defaults in the U.S. with 16 and 13, respectively.

Go deeper:

• Largest milk producer in U.S. files for bankruptcy
• Coal heavyweight Murray Energy files for bankruptcy