RFID To Grow 11 Percent By The End Of Next Year
Written by Fred J. AunThe worldwide RFID market is likely to grow 11 percent by the end of next year, with highlights including contactless ticketing, contactless payments and item-level tracking of clothing, according to ABI Research. The recession, particularly the drastic impact it had on the automotive industry (which is using RFID for anti-theft features), slowed RFID’s growth, ABI said. “Remove the deeply depressed automotive immobilizer numbers, which are directly tied to vehicle production, and the growth rate jumps to almost 16 percent” between 2009 and 2010, the report said.
Another area that’s seen some decline is RFID-enabled identity cards. This decline, says ABI, was caused by “the winding down” of a national ID card program in China. However, ABI says the RFID identity card industry should see resurgence in 2010 as dozens of governments move to adopt RFID-based passports, driver’s licenses and electronic vehicle registrations.