While it would be easier to blame Hyster's shrinking market share on Yale, that is not the case. Since NACCO purchased Hyster in the late 80's Hyster has had issues. First and formost was the loss of their independence and the esprit 'd corps that was part of the "old" Hyster Company. Initially the Hyster and Yale products were different, then over time they became similar and finally identical. The sharing of the specific product lines with Yale getting the bigger pneumatics (only up to 36,500 lbs.) and Hyster getting the Yale walkie line and Class II product also occured over time. As this happened both Hyster and Yale dealers would go into each others account and say that they could sell the same product at a better price and did wind up cannibalizing some of each others accounts. Having said that though that was not the most significant factor in Hyster's decline. The main reason was the market pressure, brand recognition and high quality product in the Class IV and V market that Toyota presented. Remember that the bulk of Hyster's share when they were strong was in Class IV and V. Yale's share was never as strong as Hyster's in those classes. Today it is Toyota that commands the Class IV and V segments not Yale. Yale did gain share in those classes over the years but it came primarily from a few National Account customers that were neve Hyster accounts to begin with.