Transpo Security Spending: Going up, up, away
Federal funding for aviation security has approached $20 billion since 2001, while ground transportation security funding is close to $400 million.
And that’s just the first bit of data to emerge from the new report “Beyond Aviation: The Emerging Ground Transportation Security Market,” put out by the Convergent Security Group (an integrated investment banking practice).
The report highlights an imbalance between federal security spending on ground transportation as compared to aviation. In the future, much of the spending will be on technologies such as “intelligent” video-surveillance systems, RFID tracking, access control, and systems integration.
The Next Priority in Homeland Security: Protecting Ground Transportation
New Report Estimates Spending Could Reach $1 Billion Over Three Years
By BusinessWire
NEW YORK, BUSINESS WIRE – A new market report entitled “Beyond Aviation: The Emerging Ground Transportation Security Market,” cites a dramatic imbalance between federal security spending on ground transportation as compared to aviation. According to one estimate, federal funding for aviation security has approached $20 billion since 2001 compared to $400 million for ground transportation security. This despite continued threats against U.S. transit and the terrorist attacks on trains in London, Mumbai, and Madrid.
The report predicts U.S. ground transportation security spending will exceed $300 million this year and a total of $1 billion over the coming three years. Much of the spending will be on technologies such as: “intelligent” video surveillance systems; explosives detection equipment; analytical software and systems to improve supply chain efficiency; RFID tracking; access control, from credentialing to perimeter security; and systems integration.
The report details market drivers and constraints, funding, programs and companies. It can be downloaded at no charge from: http://www.legendmerchant.com/go/1.html
The report was prepared by the Convergent Security Group (CSG), an integrated investment banking practice providing value-added capital, M&A, business advisory and market intelligence services to companies and investors in the homeland and national security technology sectors. The CSG is a business unit of Legend Merchant Group, an investment bank headquartered in NYC. GrayDome Partners, LLC, is a joint-venture partner in the CSG.
But the imbalance in government and private spending is starting to shift. The report identifies key drivers for increased spending, including the passage of government funding; growing private sector focus on the business benefits of new security technology; political pressure to increase spending on transit security; and fears raised by terrorist attacks against the Mumbai and London transit systems.
Industry players now focus on ground transportation security. Lockheed Martin is priming a $212 million electronic security project in New York; Raytheon and its team recently won a contract potentially worth over $1 billion to screen cargo – much of it on trucks – for nuclear materials. Aviation security leader Smiths Detection has identified rail security as a future growth driver.