[paulj]

Since many of us have Yakima Racks, this news item might be of interest

http://www.oregonlive.com/business/index.ssf/2009/12/partner_acquires_beaverton_rac.html

A Taiwanese manufacturer has agreed to buy Yakima Products, a locally based maker of cargo racks.

Yakima will operate as an independent subsidiary of Kemflo International Co. Ltd. and keep its Beaverton headquarters, where it employs about 55 people, said Jerry Heinlen, Yakima's chief executive.
...
Yakima, which was bought eight years ago by private equity firm Arcapita, moved to Oregon in 2005. With Kemflo's purchase, Heinlen said, Arcapita has exited its investment.

I hadn't realized that Yakima was now based in Beaverton. Last I had looked they were in Eureka CA.

The article implies that there shouldn't be any problems with future supplies of Yakima products; instead this is part of a global expansion, with more products aimed at small cars not available in the US. They are, in effect, taking on Thule in markets outside the USA.