On the one hand, 2006 saw sales expectations fall short for RFID technology, but on the other hand, according to Venture Development Corporation’s (VDC) “2005-2006 RFID Year-End Overview,” investment in the industry remained robust. The worldwide RFID market topped $2.3 billion, with an anticipated growth of 35% through 2008. VDC forecasts $3 billion in global revenue by the end of 2007.
In addition, VDC anticipates consolidation in the industry’s future, with downsizing and competition making buyouts and partnerships an attractive option.
Globally, North America continues to lead the RFID charge with the most activity, with the lead adopter continuing to be the Asia-Pacific region, integrating RFID into ticketing, access control and other public infrastructure applications. China in particular is expected to be a massive growth sector for the technology.
While 2006 EPC UHF tag volumes fell below expectations, VDC predicts that increased standardization and availability in this category will cause the market to grow by almost 88 percent by 2009.
