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Airlines throughout North America stand to benefit both financially and in terms of more efficient ground operations through the simple use of RFID asset tracking, according to ABI Research.
The big utility 'dollies' used at airports - the ones you see being pulled around by tractors - cost around US$5,000 each, and there are many thousands of them in airports around the USA. According to ABI, airlines lose them quite often, whether through carelessness, theft, or through other airlines 'borrowing' them.
The problem that airlines face is that, apart from the inconvenience of not having enough around when they're needed, is that it's also expensive to dedicate resources to re-locate the missing dollies; time and resources are wasted for hours at a time, and this quickly becomes a significant expense. "If you can track them electronically," explained ABI Research analyst Christopher Lopez, "you can save a lot of money and use ground staff more productively."
Hello dollies
Some airlines (such as American, Delta, JetBlue and others) are beginning to employ a variety of electronic techniques to keep track of their rolling assets. So far they are collectively using GPS, RFID, and hybrid systems in a variety of configurations.
"In a sophisticated hybrid tracking system," Lopez added, "the GPS will pin-point the location of the asset, while the attached RFID tag will transmit that information to a ground-based network, thereby avoiding expensive satellite uplinks."
Other applications
Of course, baggage tracking is another obvious application for RFID in this market, and frequent travellers to Asia may be happy to know that Hong Kong airport now tags every piece of luggage passing through it.
Port efficiency is another growth area, according to ABI. Delays in unloading cargo mean rapidly rising costs as shipping arrangements are dynamically changed on an ad-hoc basis. Asset tracking through RFID technology can also provide an opportunity to keep those costs to a minimum.
Transport report
The latest ABI Research study, 'The RFID Transportation Market', presents a good analysis of end users' strategies, and their willingness to enter the RFID transportation market. It also includes forecasts illustrating market trends. Sub-vertical markets such as railways, airports, ports and marinas are also covered with regard to their impact on the RFID market, and the potential for hybrid technology systems.
Source: ABI Research
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