Equipment Leasing and Finance Industry Confidence Eases in October

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation recently released the October 2015 Monthly Confidence Index for the equipment finance industry. Designed to collect leadership data, the index reports a qualitative assessment of both the prevailing business conditions and expectations for the future as reported by key executives from the $903-billion equipment finance sector. Overall, confidence in the market is 58.7, easing from the September index of 61.1, following a sharp rise in the August index.

October 2015 Survey Results:
The overall MCI-EFI is 58.7, easing from the September Index of 61.1.

• When asked to assess business conditions over the next four months, 14.8 percent of executives responding said they believe business conditions will improve over the next four months, a decrease from 22.2 percent in September.  
• 22.2 percent of survey respondents believe demand for leases and loans to fund capital expenditures will increase over the next four months, down from 29.6 percent in September.  
• 22.2 percent of executives expect more access to capital to fund equipment acquisitions over the next four months, down from 25.9 percent in September.  
• When asked, 40.7 percent of the executives report they expect to hire more employees over the next four months, an increase from 37 percent in September.
• 3.7 percent of the leadership evaluate the U.S. economy as “excellent,” an increase from none last month.  
• 7.4 percent of the survey respondents believe that U.S. economic conditions will get “better” over the next six months, a decrease from 18.5 percent who believed so in September.  
• In October, 40.7 percent of respondents indicate they believe their company will increase spending on business development activities during the next six months, a decrease from 51.9 percent in September.