Equipment Leasing and Finance Industry Confidence Unchanged in July

July 23, 2014
Confidence in the equipment finance market was 61.4 in July, unchanged from June’s Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry (MCI-EFI).

Confidence in the equipment finance market was 61.4 in July, unchanged from June’s Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry (MCI-EFI).

When asked about the outlook for the future, MCI-EFI survey respondent Adam D. Warner, President, Key Equipment Finance and Chairman of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA), said, “I don't believe that the dramatic contraction of the U.S. economy in Q1 should be blamed on winter weather. There are underlying concerns by businesses and consumers that real unemployment has been too high for too long and not enough of the federal incentives are around job creation.  Additionally, the federal government's inability to collaborate on growth initiatives is having a lasting toll on confidence.”

July 2014 Survey Results:

•             When asked to assess their business conditions over the next four months, 28.6% of executives responding said they believe business conditions will improve over the next four months, up from 23.5% in June.  68.6% of respondents believe business conditions will remain the same over the next four months, down from 70.6% in June.  2.9% believe business conditions will worsen, down from 5.9% who believed so the previous month.

•             25.7% of survey respondents believe demand for leases and loans to fund capital expenditures (capex) will increase over the next four months, up from 17.6% in June.  68.6% believe demand will “remain the same” during the same four-month time period, down from 79.4% the previous month.  5.7% believe demand will decline, up from 2.9% who believed so in June.

•             25.7% of executives expect more access to capital to fund equipment acquisitions over the next four months, down from 26.5% in June. 74.3% of survey respondents indicate they expect the “same” access to capital to fund business, an increase from 73.5% in June.  No one expects “less” access to capital, unchanged from the previous month.

•             When asked, 37% of the executives reported they expect to hire more employees over the next four months, a decrease from 44% in June.  60% expect no change in headcount over the next four months, up from 50% last month.  2.9% expect fewer employees, down from 5.9% who expected fewer employees in June.

•             5.7% of the leadership evaluates the current U.S. economy as “excellent,” up from 2.9% last month.  88.6% of the leadership evaluates the current U.S. economy as “fair,” a decrease from 91.4% in June.  5.7% rate it as “poor,” unchanged from the last three months.

•             22.9% of the survey respondents believe that U.S. economic conditions will get “better” over the next six months, a decrease from 29.4% who believed so in June.  74.3% of survey respondents indicate they believe the U.S. economy will “stay the same” over the next six months, an increase from 70.6% in June.  2.9% believe economic conditions in the U.S. will worsen over the next six months, up from none last month.

•             In July, 25.7% of respondents indicate they believe their company will increase spending on business development activities during the next six months, a decrease from 35.3% in June.  74.3% believe there will be “no change” in business development spending, an increase from 61.8% last month.  None believe there will be a decrease in spending, a decrease from 2.9% who believed so last month.