2D bar code scanners are forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of nearly 25 percent over the next five years, according to research by Venture Development Corporation (VDC) in Natick, Mass.

The overall market for handheld bar code scanners should grow by more than 7 percent over that time period, with 2D bar code imagers exhibiting the largest gains. The total global market for handheld bar code scanners approached $810 million in 2006, with approximately 4.3 million units shipped.

Click here to enlarge image

Driving growth within the 2D market will be the industrial and manufacturing sector, which continues to adopt 2D imagers for reading direct part markings of Data Matrix in the automotive and aerospace industries. 2D symbology is also being used for labeling on space-restrictive products, such as pharmaceuticals and printed circuit boards (PCBs).

2D imagers are also experiencing high growth rates within rugged environments. Although overall growth of laser scanners has diminished over the past few years as the technology continues to lose share to imaging, it is still exhibiting compound annual growth rates (CAGR) in excess of 9 percent for rugged environments, such as manufacturing, field sales/service and health care.

For more information, contact VDC online at www.vdc-corp.com.