Per a study by
Freedonia Group Inc., demand for electronic security products and systems in the United States is projected to increase 8.7 percent per year through 2008 to $15.5 billion. The post-9/11 era has been characterized by a generally favorable business climate for suppliers of electronic security products and services, especially when compared to the lackluster performance of most technology-related industries during the period.
Electronic security vendors did not escape fallout from the broader downturn in capital spending, and this has kept electronic security markets from exhibiting the type of growth many observers had expected following the terrorist incidents. Future gains will be fueled by improving capital spending dynamics and a sustained preoccupation with security matters.
Holding especially good prospects are systems that cost-effectively maximize the performance of the security function, including closed-circuit television (CCTV) systems and most types of access controls. High-end products such as digital-based CCTV and biometric access controls will register especially strong gains from relatively small early 2000s bases.
Demand for more mature, established products such as alarms and electronic article surveillance (EAS) systems will increase somewhat more slowly, although "smart" labels based on radio frequency identification technology will represent a growth segment within the EAS market. Growth in the contraband detection systems market will be impacted by the massive expansion of the base that occurred in the bedrock airport segment during 2002 and 2003. Automotive security devices will exhibit healthy growth through the latter part of the decade as original equipment manufacturer penetration rates continue to increase.
