Category: RFID

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.