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One step closer to mobile RFID readers
For many, a lift-truck mounted RFID reader represents the Holy Grail in mobile, automated real-time data collection. With recent announcements from some hardware suppliers, the industry is one step closer to that goal.

It’s an important step for anyone who wants to take RFID deeper into their operations. The first round of RFID implementations has focused on the receiving and shipping docks. While that does allow a user to automatically read pallets and cartons that were once manually scanned as they enter or leave a truck, the approach limits the potential benefits of RFID.    ...More>>>

Marrying RFID with aluminum pallets
RHINO, a manufacturer of aluminum pallets, has partnered with TrenStar, one of the first companies to offer RFID-enabled management of mobile assets, to provide financing and management services for RHINO's aluminum pallets. 

With this partnership, TrenStar will purchase the pallets from RHINO and then provide the ongoing tracking, cleaning, repair and replacement of those pallets through a pay-per-use agreement. TrenStar pioneered that business model in the management of beer kegs for the brewery industry and containers used to transport raw materials in the tire industry.   ...More>>>

Blazing trails from RFID to wireless sensor networks
The market for RFID tags will grow from an estimated $295 million in 2004 to $2.8 billion by 2009. That's a compounded annual growth rate of 57% for the next five years.

The remarkable pace of growth of this industry is one of the findings from "RFID Tags And Chips: Changing The World For Less Than The Price Of A Cup Of Coffee," a study by Allen Nogee, principal analyst with In-Stat, a division of Reed Business Information that specializes in high tech market research.

Nogee also expects the number of RFID tags in use to grow by leaps and bounds as well, from an estimated 144 million tags last year to over 25.5 billion by 2009.    ...More>>>

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• International RFID Business Association to Establish Global Standards for RFID Education & Certification
  The International Radio Frequency Identification Business Association (RFIDba), a global, not-for-profit, trade association which promotes vendor-neutral education on RFID technologies and business applications, announced that it has commissioned a major cross-industry assessment of RFID knowledge, job skills and critical work processes required in the workplace as the first step towards establishing a global RFID Certification Program.
  
  

• Mandates Impact Dynamics of RFID Middleware Market
  The radio frequency identification (RFID) market is likely to grow rapidly following mandates issued by retail giants such as Wal-Mart, Target, and Albertsons and other major entities including the U.S. Department of Defense.
  

• Research and Markets: RFID in Manufacturing: The Race to Radio-Tag is Heating Up
  Research and Markets has announced the addition of RFID in Manufacturing: The race to radio-tag is heating up in manufacturing to their offering.
  
• Applied Digital's VeriChip Corporation Acquires Instantel, Inc.
  VeriChip Corporation, a subsidiary of Applied Digital, announced that its Canadian subsidiary has completed the acquisition of Ottawa, Ontario-based Instantel Inc.
  
• RFID: Plug-and-Play to Save the Day, Says ABI Research
  After the initial excitement around Wal-Mart's January 1, 2005 RFID deadline, things have gone a bit quiet. As ABI Research has noted in the past, a significant number of those suppliers have gone only as far as they absolutely had to in order to satisfy their mega-customer's basic requirements. If -- as evidence from the consumer goods vertical market suggests -- many end-users are currently in a "wait and see" holding pattern, why is that the case and what will it take to get the RFID ball rolling?