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Not long ago, American processors were exporting large quantities of chicken legs to Russia. This was surplus material because the high demand in North America was for breasts. Unfortunately, the Russians were busy developing their own chicken industry, and as soon as it was running well enough they declared American chicken "unsafe" and forbade importing it.
This left processors needing to find an attractive way to unload these legs in the North American market. Production methods have been developed to efficiently debone entire leg/thigh portions in one piece, and many markets here now sell skinless boneless "leg meat" (actually leg and thigh) by the pound or packed bulk in plastic bags.
This is a very convenient way to purchase chicken if you need a lot of meat, but it doesn't work well if you need chicken stock. I often buy bags of leg quarters to have lots of bones and offcuts for the pot. I debone both the thighs and legs for use in recipes and simmer all the rest for a flavorful stock.
Another reason for increasing emphasis on dark meat is that in most cuisines around the world dark meat is preferred (and if they ever tasted American cardboard breasts they'd really prefer dark). Demographic changes in North America, including a strong influx of Hispanics and Asians, have increased demand for non-breast chicken.
Along with this influx has come a rapidly increasing interest in ethnic cuisines among "regular white folks". Many Americans are discovering the cuisines of formerly remote parts of the world, finding they offer unprecedented flavor - and economy to boot.
A third reason for interest in dark meat among processors is the dramatic rise in the cost of chicken feed. This has resulted from international demand, weather problems, and the U.S. Congress' totally brain dead program to subsidize conversion of food into SUV fuel.
Under these conditions even rather small increases in rendering efficiency and moving products into higher profit markets are critical to profitability.
Note: the above information is compiled from various sources, including Bon Apétit, The Wall Street Journal and Food Manufacturing magazine.