Interesting article in yesterday's edition of InternetWeek. - Bill N3LLR RFID Finds Smooth Ride In Auto Industry By Keith Ferrell, TechWeb News, InternetWeek Aug 21, 2003 (8:50 PM) URL: http://www.internetweek.com/story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=13100951 </story/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=13100951> Radio frequency identification (RFID) was supposed to set the retail world on wireless product-tracking fire, but the technology has so far found its warmest market welcome in the auto industry, according to a study released Thursday by technology research firm Allied Business Intelligence (ABI.) ABI found that at present auto industry RFID expenditures represent 46 percent of the total RFID market, with carmakers poised to put $600 million into RFID-makers' pockets over the next few years. Car-manufacturer RFID expenditures will be a whopping 30 times larger than retail market investment this year, according to ABI's study, "RFID: Emerging Applications Driving R&D Investment and End-User Demand." The industry's share of the total RFID marketplace will drop to 28 percent by 2008, ABI said, but the decline in position will be caused by wider adoption of the technology by other industries and sectors, including, finally, retail. While WalMart, for example, has recently backed away from individual product-on-shelf RFID tests, the company remains on-track with its January, 2005 mandating of RFID-enabled pallets from its top 100 suppliers. Despite the loss of percentage market-share to other sectors, automotive RFID could look for continued growth in car-sector RFID buys, ABI said. The study reinforces market potential already sensed and targeted by key IT players. Semiconductor maker Infineon Technologies' North American unit, for example, revealed last month that automotive sector IC purchases, including RFID tags, accounted for nearly a quarter of its business. ABI saw solid growth potential in both in-car RFID technology and the automobile manufacturing supply chain, with the supply chain holding perhaps the largest potential for rapid expansion. "Right now about forty percent of the [automotive RFID] market is in the supply chain, but there's room for growth as the manufacturers and suppliers cooperate more on setting standards for systems," ABI analyst Frank Viquez said. "The most pervasive RFID items now are transponders and vehicle immobilizers located on the key," Viquez said. Key in-vehicle RFID devices identified by the research firm included immobilizers, tire trackers, automatic vehicle identification devices and passive entry systems. Already available in millions of cars, the market is anticipated to expand as RFID-enabled technology achieves wider acceptance as standard devices on more models. For supply chain vendors, ABI touted what it called the "one-tag-fits-all" RFID solution for automaker OEMS, enabling the supplier to track RFID-tagged components from shipment through assembly line. "The same benefits that this technology can bring to retail supply chains are being tested -- and proven -- in the automotive supply chain," ABI research director Ed Rerisi said in a statement.