Category: RFID

RFID sales around the world hit $5 bln in 2007, a figure pushed by a $2 bln investment in China’s chipped national ID card, according to IDTechEx.

The market for Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) of animals, food, and farming will reach $9.4 bln by 2017, making it the largest market for RFID technology, VSurance claims.

In 2007, the total RFID market size is $4.96 bln. By 2017, the total RFID market size is estimated to grow to $26.88 bln, RFID Limited says.

Wi-Fi RFID tag shipments will grow at over 100% annually through 2010, reports In-Stat. AeroScout shipments accounted for the majority of all Wi-Fi RFID tags in 2006. 2006 worldwide Wi-Fi RFID tag shipments reached 135,000.

RFID vertical application market was estimated at RMB 1.477 billion in China in 2005, in which ultrahigh frequency (UHF) RFID application accounted for only 10.6% at RMB 156 million. IDC predicts that by 2010, the total market revenue will reach RMB 29.837 billion, with a forecast compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for 2005-2010 of 82.4%.

By 2011, the A&D RFID market is expected to realize revenue in excess of $2 bln, ABI Research says.

The overall systems revenue for RFID airline baggage handling will be $11.8 mln in 2006, growing to almost $27.5 mln in 2011, a CAGR of 18.49%, ABI Research said.

More than 565 mln high-frequency RFID tag ICs were shipped in 2005, according to ABI Research. In the year from Q1 2005 to Q1 2006, shipments of HF ISO14443 tag ICs increased 104%.

Radio frequency identification (RFID) technology in the retail consumer products goods sector reached $161 mln in 2005, with hardware accounting for 41%, according to Venture Development Corp. RFID will grow at a compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 57% during the next four years, with revenue exceeding $1.5 bln in 2010.

According to IDC, 12.4% of companies in the Western European manufacturing, retail/wholesale, and logistics sectors were piloting or planning to pilot radio frequency identification (RFID) in 2005, with 5.1% implementing it or planning to implement it.

Worldwide RFID spending is expected to total $504 mln in 2005, up 39% from 2004. RFID will begin to experience broader industry adoption with business value-focused implementations toward the end of 2006 when new license revenue totals $751 mln. By 2010, Gartner forecasts worldwide RFID spending to surpass $3 bln.

Revenue in the RFID market for retail totaled $400 mln in 2004, and estimates put the technology at about $4.2 bln by 2011, according to Frost & Sullivan. The North American retail RFID market is close to 40% of the global RFID market. More than 70% of retailers in Europe, Middle East and Africa with revenues of $5 bln or more are involved in or are exploring RFID investments.

Datamonitor predicts that RFID technology will be a $6.1 bln industry by 2010, triple what it is today.

According to BIGresearch and Artafact LLC, RFID awareness is much higher among men (52%) than women (31%). RFID aware men and women understand the technology and can accurately describe it to others. 25.6% of respondents say that TV and radio rews are the most common way people learn about RFID. 23% feel the Internet is the greatest influence on awareness.

60% of manufacturers surveyed by Datamonitor are already working on RFID projects. 90% of manufacturers surveyed said their next RFID project will be based on systems and data integration. 90% of IT executives surveyed said grid computing was of no relevance anywhere in their product life cycles, and 80% say that utility computing is of no use in resource planning or supply chain execution.

41% of adults say they know about RFID, up from 28% in September 2004, according to BIGresearch and Artafact. 23% of consumers said they learned about RFID from the Web. 26% found out about it from TV and radio news. 68% of respondents are concerned that the technology will be used for purposes other than product tracking.

The Computing Technology Industry Association says 80% of IT manufacturers and service companies see a shortage of RFID talent to implement, service, and support radio-frequency identification technology. RFID adoption remains “relatively modest,” with about 71% saying their customers haven’t implemented RFID. 80% say they haven’t gone past investigating the technology, and just 16% have implemented one or more pilot projects for themselves or their customers. 37% of respondents say their companies will definitely offer RFID products and services within the next three years, and 39% say they’d consider doing so if there’s interest from their customers. 82% expect to offer RFID hardware installation and maintenance services, 62% to offer software implementations, and 51% other services.

US government spending on RFID should grow 120% by fiscal year 2009, according to INPUT. RFID spending should start to take off in fiscal 2007, as businesses start demonstrating success in areas other than just the supply chain process.

Radio tagging offers the possibility of creating a data profile for goods in order to improve flows of information along the value chain. The application possibilities for radio tagging are far more than simply a replacement for bar codes in wholesale and retail. With the resolution of pressing requirements in the areas of technology, regulation and marketing, the overall market for radio tagging in Europe could grow 10-fold over the next six years to reach 4 bln euros, according to research from Deutsche Bank.

Drug counterfeiting may cost the worldwide pharmaceutical industry more than $30 billion annually. RFID is seen as one way to lower that cost. Issues of drug counterfeiting and patient safety differentiate it from RFID in retail markets. With the industry losing $2 billion due to overstock and expiry and $30 billion due to counterfeiting, there is an opportunity for RFID, according to ABI Research.

RFID tags are poised to become the most far-reaching wireless technology since the cell phone, according to In-Stat. Worldwide revenues from RFID tags will jump from $300 mln in 2004 to $2.8 bln in 2009. During this period, the technology will appear in many industries with significant impact on the efficiency of business processes. The widespread adoption of the technology will take a couple of years to really ramp up, as tags are still relatively expensive, ranging from a low of around $0.15 to a high of over $100. Privacy issues remain a concern for many applications of RFID, and currently courts and governments around the world are in the process of determining related legal issues. The second-largest market for RFID, at least in the latter years of the forecast, is consumer products, even though this market is one of the most privacy-sensitive areas.

Deloitte & Touche expects collecting, collating and presenting RFID data will become a very sizeable industry, with technology companies grabbing the lion’s share of revenue. By the end of 2005, more than 10 bln RFID tags will have been sold and used.

Most of the 137 companies that undertook to meet RFID mandates during 2004 did get involved with the technology to a greater or lesser degree. But many started small, allocating much lower budgets to the effort than the $2-3 million some analysts had predicted. In 2005 these companies are increasing their investment, to scale up and integrate RFID into their normal operations. ABI Research sees companies increase their RFID budgets three to five times in 2005 compared to 2004.

ABI Research surveyed supply chain optimization providers, government and counter-terrorism agencies and loss prevention firms on plans to use wireless tracking technologies. GPS and cellular telephony happen to be the most widely adopted technologies, with Wi-Fi and Bluetooth gaining on current leaders.

Encompassing a wide range of applications ? from helping to protect the U.S. drug distribution network from counterfeiters to ensuring child safety ? perhaps no other autoidentification concept has gained as much attention in 2004 as the topic of radio frequency identification (RFID). And with major companies planning to increase the deployment and integration of RFID systems in retail stores and warehouses in the years ahead, the market for related consulting, implementation, and managed services is expected to grow by 47% in 2004 and reach $2 bln worldwide by 2008, according to IDC.

RFID and wireless autosensing solutions have evolved into a legitimate consulting, implementation, and managed services opportunity for many of the world?s most well-respected services organizations. Approximately 66% of enterprise organizations considering an RFID solution in 2004 reported they would prefer to use external resources when implementing such projects. Services firms are increasing levels of investment in personnel, marketing and partnerships for RFID in anticipation of increasing demand for services through 2008. While each of the 15 RFID services vendors profiled in this report have special qualities and unique capabilities, IDC has identified two leaders having the greatest potential for future marketshare gains