Global meltdown has cast its ominous shadows on almost every sector around the globe and how could the RFID industry stay untouched.

On the whole the projected growth rates of the industry are not expected to match the previous year figures. Certain sections of the industry feel that even though the current conditions are demanding, it is expected to cast a small effect on the adoption of RFID. Despite all this optimism the vendor performance and end user activity during the first and second quarter of 2009 is expected to act as a benchmark for the near future growth of RFID market within traditional and modern applications.

Despite the current slowdown, ABI Research latest market data states that the revenue from RFID software, readers, transponders and services is expected to cross the figure of $5.6 billion in 2009.

If the industry would like to minimize the current effect of the downturn it would be good if it positions itself as a cost saving solution among enterprise users. The onus would now lie on the RFID vendors and channel partners to play an upbeat role in communicating the value factor to the customers in these testing times. The effect of the downturn is not expected to be to be immediate rather we might have to wait till the end of the second quarter to gauge the overall impact of the economic condition.

Despite deferrals and termination of project at several places the market for RFID is still expected to grow but in a fragmented manner. We can bet on one thing that the growth would not be stunted even in this prevailing economic crisis.