Our continued focus on productivity and cost resulted in a companywide decremental of 19% in the quarter.
The $45 million cost plan for 2020 that we communicated in May remains on track.
With 13 new product launches in Q3, we remain on track to deliver on our commitment to launching 45 new products this year.
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We booked orders of $167 million, down 19% organically due to the impact of COVID-19 on our Industrial and Commercial Aerospace businesses.
Sales came in as expected at $187 million flat to the prior quarter and down 15% organically.
Adjusted operating income was slightly more than $17 million, representing a margin of 9.3%, up 80-basis-points from the prior quarter, and down 130-basis-points from last year driven by lower sales volume in industrial.
The Companywide decremental was 19% in the quarter, which is significantly lower than our contribution margin driven by productivity, aggressive cost actions, and price.
In Q3, Industrial segment orders were down 23% organically due to the impact of COVID-19 on most end markets.
Excluding our Downstream business, orders an industrial were down 15% organically.
As expected, the industrial segment had sales of $124 million flat to the prior quarter, and down 18% organically.
The EOM margin was 7.9% down 210-basis-points sequentially, and a decline of 460-basis-points versus last year.
In addition, one of our facilities in North America experienced a COVID-19 outbreak which forced us to idle the factory for most of August, and impacted our EOM by approximately $1.5 million in the quarter.
Adjusted for the $1.5 million of COVID impact, the industrial margin would have been 9.1%, and the decremental would be approximately 30%.
In Q3, in our Aerospace & Defense segment, we delivered orders of $59 million, down 9% organically.
Sales for the Aerospace & Defense were $62 million flat to the prior quarter, and down 9% organically.
The Aerospace & Defense operating margin was 23.7%, up 360-basis-points versus the prior year, and 260-basis-points sequentially.
With $6 million lower revenue, the Aerospace & Defense team delivered $1 million of incremental operating income, driven by price, productivity, and other aggressive cost actions.
For Q3, the effective tax rate was approximately 13% lower than the 14.8% in the prior quarter, due to a change in the statutory tax rate where CIRCOR operates.
For Q4, the tax rate is projected to be approximately 15%.
The Company took a non-cash charge of approximately $42 million to create a valuation allowance against its remaining U.S. deferred tax assets.
Looking at special items and restructuring charges, we recorded a total pre-tax charge of $13 million in the quarter.
The acquisition-related amortization and depreciation were a charge of $12 million with the remaining million dollars being associated with restructuring activities in the quarter.
Interest expense for the quarter was $8 million, down $4 million, compared to last year.
Corporate costs in the quarter were $7.2 million, in line with previous guidance provided.
At the end of the third quarter, our net debt was at $468 million.
This represents a year-over-year debt reduction of $120 million dollars.
In Q3, we paid $52 million, and the revolver further reducing our debt balance and interest expense.
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For Q3, orders were down 7% on a sequential basis with both for market and aftermarket orders coming in slightly lower than Q2.
For industrial revenue in Q4, we expect a moderate improvement sequentially with growth ranging from flat to up 10%.
While year-over-year revenue is expected to be down between 5% and 15%.
Defense revenue should see sequential growth of 20% to 25%, and year-over-year growth of 15% to 20%.
Commercial revenue is expected to grow sequentially between 15% and 25%, but we'll be down year over year between 40% and 45%.
The outlook for price remains strong with a net 4% increase for Defense and Commercial Aerospace, driven by improved price management.
The $45 million cost plan for 2020 is on track.
Our focus on productivity and cost resulted in a companywide decremental of 19% in the quarter, and the CIRCOR operating system is delivering improved operating performance across most metrics.
We remain on track to deliver on our commitment to launching a record of 45 new products this year.

Summary:
The $45 million cost plan for 2020 that we communicated in May remains on track.
With 13 new product launches in Q3, we remain on track to deliver on our commitment to launching 45 new products this year.
Sales came in as expected at $187 million flat to the prior quarter and down 15% organically.
Commercial revenue is expected to grow sequentially between 15% and 25%, but we'll be down year over year between 40% and 45%.
The $45 million cost plan for 2020 is on track.
We remain on track to deliver on our commitment to launching a record of 45 new products this year.