RAIN RFID tag ICs sales crack 20bn in 2020

Steve Halliday of RAIN Alliance

More than 21 billion RAIN Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) tag integrated circuits (IC) were sold worldwide in 2020. This was a 15% increase over 2019 sales and outstripping industry forecasts, according to research released today by the RAIN Alliance.

RAIN Alliance is the global industry non-profit organisation charged with accelerating UHF RFID growth and adoption in business and consumer applications. RAIN RFID technology provides the identification, location and authentication of the physical item that an RFID tag is attached to. It can also be used to connect to sensors and actuators.

The data is an aggregate of the 2020 sales numbers collected from the major RAIN tag IC manufacturers. RAIN is a brand name for passive Ultra High Frequency (UHF) RFID wireless technology.

Since 2015, RAIN tag IC sales volume have surpassed 84 billion integrated circuits or “chips” that are critical to helping drive the surge in Internet-of-Things (IOT) devices. The global value of the RAIN market including tag ICs, inlays, tags, reader ICs and modules, readers and printer/encoders was US$2.2 billion (€1.85 billion) in 2019 and is forecast to exceed $5.1 billion (€4.29 billion) by 2024, according to the RAIN RFID Market Research Report.

“With the pandemic and the resulting global economic malaise, the strong growth of RAIN RFID sales in 2020 bodes well for the future of the industry,” says Steve Halliday, president, RAIN Alliance. “I think this growth can be attributed to the wide range and diversity of industries and applications using RAIN RFID. The technology’s flexibility and functionality have ensured the industry of weathering the recent economic storm resulting in a market that is tuned for further growth in 2021.”

David Krebs

“The recently completed RAIN RFID Market Research Report is bullish on the market and the technology,” comments David Krebs, executive vice president, VDC Research. “RAIN RFID technology is ubiquitous across many, if not most, industries. It is used extensively in healthcare, Internet of Things (IoT), retail, aviation and manufacturing applications.”

The RAIN RFID Market Research Report is global in scope and was produced in collaboration with VDC Research using information provided by members of the RAIN Alliance.

The report contains detailed analysis of initial market models segmented by product type including finished tags/transponders, fixed readers, handheld readers and printer/encoders. Multiple industries and applications, trends by industry and application, as well as regional market trends are addressed within the report. Specific information on each of the components of the technology over the time period 2019 to 2024 with the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for each are given with unit and revenue.

The RAIN RFID Alliance

The RAIN Alliance is the industry organisation supporting the universal adoption of RAIN UHF RFID technology, a wireless technology that connects billions of everyday items to the Internet-of-Things, enabling businesses and consumers to identify, locate, authenticate and engage assets.

Download the eBook to learn more about RAIN UHF RFID here. Available in English and Chinese. Membership in the RAIN Alliance is open to all companies that have an interest in RAIN RFID technology. For more information, visit the RAIN Alliance website.

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