Sep 19, 2006This article was originally published by RFID Update.
September 19, 2006—Wealth and asset management firm Robert W. Baird & Co. has released its RFID Monthly for September. Baird has given RFID Update permission to reprint the Key Developments section (below), which offers the report highlights. For those wanting more detail, the complete 14-page document is available free here.
The standard matrix of primary RFID providers is on page 11, and following are the Key Developments:
- Interoperability Certifications Granted by EPCglobal. Intermec, Impinj, Sirit, and Microelectronics Technology (MTI) announced in mid-September that EPCglobal awarded Gen2 certification to several products. The certification signifies that hardware has been tested and meets Gen2 specifications and interoperability requirements. Intermec announced that its Large Rigid Tag and IM5 RFID radio module have been certified, while Impinj indicated that its Monza tag chips and Speedway readers have been certified as Gen2 compliant. Sirit announced certification of its INfinity 510 RFID reader, and MTI reported that its MRD-E42 UHF RFID reader has been Gen2 certified. (See Interoperability Certified for 12 Gen2 RFID Products.)
- Wal-Mart Reaffirms 2006 RFID Timetable. Wal-Mart recently announced its intention to have another 500 stores incorporated into its developing RFID supply chain system by the end of its fiscal year. With this addition, Wal-Mart would have 1,000 total stores live by the end of 2006. We had seen some evidence of slowing given the CIO transition at Wal-Mart, but we view this announcement that new CIO Rollin Ford is fully backing all Wal-Mart RFID initiatives. (See Wal-Mart to Expand RFID Rollout by 500 Locations.)
- Avery Visit Suggests Ample Inlay Capacity, Stable Pricing. We visited two Avery-Dennison RFID facilities earlier in August, and learned that Avery's inlay production process, including the internal production of straps, is up and running to produce regular (dry) and adhesive backed (wet) inlays at a speed of roughly 100,000 units per hour (dry) per line, or roughly 2B per year per shift per line. Management suggested that they could add substantially more capacity without significant additional capital expenditures. Management indicated that the current price of $0.079 per dry inlay ($0.099 for a wet inlay) is not likely to go lower in the near term as the pricing is discounted to generate demand.
- RFID Stock Index Performed Slightly Better in the Last Month. On September 15, Baird's RFID Index was up 4.9% vs. August 15, slightly underperforming the NASDAQ (+5.7%), and outperforming the S&P500 (+2.7%). Of companies under Baird Supply Chain Technology coverage, Symbol (+19.2%), Zebra (+6.8%), and NCR (+6.2%) outperformed all indices. Brady (+0.1%) and Intermec (-6.2%) underperformed all indices. Big movers in the index included Paxar (+17.9%), Sun Microsystems (+14.3%), Atmel (+13.5%), Digital Angel (-6.8%), Sirit (-9.1%), and Axcess (-13.0%).
Download the full Baird RFID Monthly (pdf)
