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Consumer packaged goods firms have yet to realise any significant benefit or payback from using RFID tags at case and pallet level despite retailer mandates in the US, according to a report from IDTechEx.

In a summary of the findings, IDTechEx chief executive Raghu Das said sales levels for pallet and case tagging applications were disappointing. Only 200m of the 1bn tags sold worldwide in 2006 were for pallets or cases.

Das said: “There is overcapacity. Indeed, IDTechEx now hears of some major tag producers looking to get out of the business or at least outsource tag production.”

IDTechEx forecasts that the demand for tags for pallet and cases worldwide will be 420m units in 2007, rising to more than 1bn per year by 2009. Approximately 7% of all packages sold in 2017 will have RFID, said Das.

Label and packaging converters were more keen to invest in RFID, according to IDTechEx. “Previously, label printers offering RFID were large corporations with ties to major supermarkets,” said one manufacturer of RFID label converting equipment. “Now, smaller label printers have entered into the arena, supplying much lower volumes to satisfy niche markets.”

*RFID Forecasts, Players & Opportunities 2007-2017 costs £1,800 ($3,500). Contact www.idtechex.com