Confidence in Equipment Finance Industry Highest in Three Years

Ninety-seven percent of the leadership evaluate the current U.S. economy as “fair,” and no one rates it as poor, according to the January Confidence Index

Overall, confidence in the equipment finance market is 66.1, an increase from the December index of 63.4 and the highest level in the last three years.
Overall, confidence in the equipment finance market is 66.1, an increase from the December index of 63.4 and the highest level in the last three years.
Equipment Leasing Foundation L 10950309

The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation's (the Foundation) January 2015 Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry (MCI-EFI) indicated confidence in the equipment finance market is 66.1, an increase from the December index of 63.4 and the highest level in the last three years.

When asked about the outlook for the future, MCI-EFI survey respondent Thomas Jaschik, President, BB&T Equipment Finance, said, “With third quarter GDP in excess of 5 percent, the economy is primed for a surge in capital equipment spending. I believe domestic companies now have the confidence to make substantial investments in plant and equipment to facilitate growth. This could lead to a record year for equipment finance in 2015.”

When asked to assess their business conditions over the next four months:

  • 23.3% believe business conditions will improve, down from 28% in December
  • 76.7% believe business conditions will remain the same, up from 72% in December
  • None believe business conditions will worsen, unchanged from the previous month
  • 20% believe demand for leases and loans to fund capital expenditures (capex) will increase, down from 22% in December
  • 80% believe demand will “remain the same”, up from 72% the previous month
  • None believe demand will decline, down from 6.3% in December
  • 33.3% expect more access to capital to fund equipment acquisitions, up from 22% in December
  • 66.7% expect the “same” access to capital to fund business, down from 78% in December
  • None expect “less” access to capital, unchanged from the previous month
  • 50% expect to hire more employees, an increase from 43.8% in December
  • 50% expect no change in headcount, unchanged from last month
  • None expect fewer employees, down from 6.3% in December

Three percent of the leadership evaluate the current U.S. economy as “excellent,” unchanged from last month. Ninety-seven percent of the leadership evaluate the current U.S. economy as “fair,” and none rate it as “poor,” both also unchanged from December.

When asked to assess conditions over the next six months:

  • 43.3% believe that U.S. economic conditions will get “better”, a decrease from 47% who believed so in December
  • 56.7% believe the U.S. economy will “stay the same”, up from 53% in December
  • None believe economic conditions in the U.S. will worsen, unchanged from last month
  • 50% believe their company will increase spending on business development activities, an increase from 37.5% in December
  • 50% believe there will be “no change” in business development spending, a decrease from 62.5% last month
  • None believe there will be a decrease in spending, unchanged from last month
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