RFID: ACTIVE OR PASSIVE FOR CARGO SECURITY?

The international standards (ISO) committee concerned with cargo container security has finally released a standard based on active RFID, but many endusers would prefer to employ passive RFID solutions, or none at all, says a new report out fromABI Research.

In the absence of a mandate from the US government, amid continuing questions about the costs and benefits of installing container security and tracking devices, the market for these systems remains largely undeveloped as forces driving and inhibiting its growth seek abalance.

“The cargo tracking and security market is not immune from the active versus passive costbenefit- performance debate,” says Michael Laird of ABI Research. “The ISO standards committee has been deliberating for years, and this year, amid industry rumors suggesting that the US government would mandate inspection of container seals on all incoming containers, it decided in favor of active technology.”

WAIT & SEE
However the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not issue any mandate. So end-users have stepped back, maintaining a“wait and see” position.

Meanwhile, a number of passive RFID vendors have now started working with other standards bodies to formulate a standard for less expensive passive technology, which, they believe, would be used for containertracking.

“So far,” adds Research Director Mike Ippoliti, “the US government has wielded the ‘carrot’ of expedited processing of sealed containers, rather than the ‘stick’ of a legal mandate. That carrot has not been tasty enough to tempt any of the interested parties.

“While nobody wants a containerrelated breach of security, only if there is a major incident will the government try to impose its will on this industry. If and when that happens, we expect the container security market to explode.”