Lube oil filters are essentially a commodity now; they are bought/sold/traded all willy-nilly. Most of the big companies are outsourcing to get a lower price-point, just to compete. It's getting to a point where I expect each company will only set a one-year contract with some brand X "maker" of filters, and then shop a RFQ again the very next year, to find the better bargain for their balance sheet.
It's really sad for us who actually pay attention to what's inside the filter, not what's on the printed box.
For a long time, I was not a fan of cartridge filters; they are a tad more messy and time consuming to change. But, at least with a cartridge filter, you can SEE THE FILTER in its naked form PRIOR to installing it; that means a lot these days. My new Lexus ES350 is my first car with a cartridge filter, and I'm beginning to appreciate it more every day in regards to O&FCIs.