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.

It seems that not a week goes by recently where the news headlines don’t showcase the continuing challenges that escalating raw materials costs, globalization and increased competition are putting on the aftermarket.

This week is a perfect example, as our list of most-viewed stories proves. Leading off the list of most read articles on aftermarketNews this week comes news that Affinia will close three North American plants as the final steps in a three-year global restructuring program. The three brake component plants, located in Dallas, Texas, Litchfield, Ill., and Milton, Ontario, are expected to close by the end of the first quarter of 2009 or shortly thereafter. The restructuring plan will also include changes to Affinia’s Quinton Hazell operations in Spain that employ approximately 275 people involved in the manufacture of water pumps and suspension products.

Gates Corp. this week also announced that it would close a plant as a result of some restructuring plans. Gates is closing its Moncks Corner, S.C., belt plant. Production from the plant will be absorbed into its other North American belt production facilities.

Struggling with the pressures of rising raw materials costs, Veyance Technologies, the exclusive manufacturer and marketer of Goodyear Engineered Products, has announced it will raise prices on its industrial and consumer products on July 1. Bob Herbolich, vice president of sales for North America, said the company has ongoing programs to manage its costs, but the persistent increases in oil- and energy-related raw material, production and transportation prices have been severe.

While many parts suppliers are working to restructure their organizations to cut costs and improve operational efficiencies, others are battling to defend their intellectual property rights in the global marketplace. In the past week, two important news stories have unfolded – both dealing with intellectual property rights and concerns over counterfeiting and copyright infringement. You can read our overview by clicking here.

Counterfeiting is an issue of concern on the trade show floors at events like AAPEX and SEMA, but now con-artists have found a new way to manipulate this very valuable audience. The International Association of Exhibitions and Events (IAEE) has reason to believe that www.expo-guide.com, a company operating out of Mexico, is targeting AAPEX and SEMA exhibitors and members to purchase a three-year commitment of advertising that is cleverly disguised as an offer of a free directory listing. This bogus offer of a free directory listing that may result in a three-year commitment costing about $1,500 annually. Click here for more info.

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