Auto Industry Drives RFID Market, Says ABI Research

Retail industry use of RFID (radio frequency identification) has received the lion's share of attention lately, but it is the automotive industry that is the primary user of this technology, says market research firm Allied Business Intelligence (ABI) Inc. According to Oyster Bay, N.Y.-based ABI, the automotive industry represents about half the RFID market and could spend some $600 million on it this year. Applications include automatic vehicle identification, tire tracking and passive entry systems. "While the technology has made its way into millions of production vehicles each year, growth potential also exists in the automotive supply chain," says ABI Director of Research Edward Rerisi. He notes the use of RFID tags by some suppliers on components shipped to the automotive assembly line. "It's a one-tag-fits-all solution, enabling the OEM to track shipments and work-in-process," Rerisi says.