By Amy Antenora

The Week in Review offers a snapshot of the most highly read stories of the week as seen on aftermarketNews. To access the complete stories, simply click on the highlighted links. If you missed reading one of our daily news emails, just click on the link that says "News Archives" at the bottom of the page to begin catching up on the latest industry news.

We’ve all heard that the decline in the housing market this year is an indicator of the overall health of the economy, but who knew it was also a good predictor for auto parts sales?

According to new research from NPD group, there is indeed a correlation between auto parts sales and housing prices in particular regions. NPD’s Automotive Store Level Tracking, which tracks point-of-sale (POS) store level information collected from nine major auto parts retailers, found that of the 50 designated market areas it covers, the markets showing the slowest growth in auto parts sales were also areas in which housing prices have depreciated; and conversely, the markets with robust sales are areas where housing has appreciated. The three leading markets, in terms of both housing and auto parts sales, can be found in Texas. Certain regions of the southeastern U.S. were found to have the lowest performing markets.

This week, Japan-based DENSO Corp. made a number of senior management changes, which took effect at the company’s shareholders meeting on June 25. At the meeting, former President and CEO Koichi Fukaya was appointed vice chairman of the DENSO board. Nobuaki Katoh now takes over as president and CEO, from his prior role as senior managing director.

Also this week, AutoZone’s board of directors authorized the repurchase of an additional $500 million of the company’s stock, bringing its current unused repurchase authorization to $608 million. Including the additional authorization, the cumulative share repurchase authorization approved by its board since 1998 totals $6.4 billion.

Following closely on the heels of Plastech Engineered Products February Chapter 11 filing, Progressive Molded Products, a Canadian Plastics Supplier, has filed for bankruptcy as well. Progressive filed for Chapter 11 protection late last Friday (June 20), listing debts in excess of $500 million and assets of no more that $50 million.

The final item to round out our list of most-viewed news items on AMN this week is an Open Letter authored by Affinia President and CEO Terry McCormack. In the letter, McCormack announces that the Michigan-based auto parts manufacturer plans to decrease its presence at this year’s AAPEX show in Las Vegas. While news of the company’s scaled-back presence may be news in and of itself for Affinia’s customers and competitors, McCormack points out that the decision speaks to the more significant shifts taking place in today’s business world – changes that cannot be ignored.

To view all of the news from the past week, simply click here to view our News Archives.