BusinessWire
January 23, 2006 05:58 AM US Pacific Timezone

The Spread and Use Of RFID In Most Sectors Will Be Largely Determined by Cost, and the Cost Of RFID Tags and Labels Are Dropping Quickly

DUBLIN, Ireland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 23, 2006--Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c31397) has announced the addition of RFID Tags And Chips: Opportunities in the Second Generation to their offering.

The technology called Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) provides for a simple way to identify an object, living or otherwise, without contact with the object. A "tag" embedded in, or impressed upon, an object is scanned with a reader and information about the object is retrieved in milliseconds.

To understand why RFID is so important, it is useful to look back at the Universal Product Code (UPC). Bernard Silver and Norman Woodland devised the UPC coding system in the early 1950s and received a patent for it in 1952. In 1973, the Uniform Code Council (UCC) was formed to uniquely identify and control distribution of UPCs so that they could be used commercially, and in 1974 Juicy Fruit Gum became the first item to bear a UPC label.

This report contains a background of the RFID market and focuses on RFID use in the following markets: livestock, companion animals, food tags, humans, supply chain, pharmaceuticals, asset tracking, package delivery tags, automotive, access control, and payment devices. For each segment, a background, tag forecast, tag ASP, and tag revenue is included for the years 2005-2010. Summary forecasts are also included for all tag segments covered.

This recent report found the following:

The spread and use of RFID in most sectors will be largely determined by cost, and the cost of RFID tags and labels are dropping quickly.

Pharmaceutical companies are investigating using RFID tags to reduce counterfeiting and black market sales.

Privacy issues have been raised concerning many uses of RFID, and currently courts and governments around the world are in the process of determining related legal issues.

The report, RFID Tags And Chips: Opportunities in the Second Generation contains estimates and five-year forecasts for the number of tags produced and revenue earned from tag sales, broken down into the following segments: livestock, domestic pets, humans, cartons/supply chain uses, pharmaceuticals, large freight containers, package tracking, consumer products, security/banking/purchasing/access control, and others. In addition, there are estimates and forecasts for tag/label ASP for each segment. Analysis of market drivers and challenges is included.

For more information visit http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c31397