Confidence in Eqpt. Market 72.9%: ELFF

July 22, 2021

The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation released the July 2021 Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry today. The index reports a qualitative assessment of both the prevailing business conditions and expectations for the future as reported by key executives from the $900 billion equipment finance sector. Overall, confidence in the equipment finance market is 72.9, an increase from the June index of 71.3.

  • When asked to assess their business conditions 58.6 percent of executives responding said they believe business conditions will improve over the next four months, up from 42.3 percent in June. 41.4 percent believe business conditions will remain the same over the next four months, down from 57.7 percent the previous month. None believe business conditions will worsen, unchanged from June.
  • 55.2 percent of the survey respondents believe demand for leases and loans to fund capital expenditures (capex) will increase over the next four months, up from 51.9 percent in June. 41.4 percent believe demand will “remain the same” during the same four-month time period, a decrease from 48.2 percent the previous month. 3.5 percent believe demand will decline, up from none in June.
  • 37.9 percent of the respondents expect more access to capital to fund equipment acquisitions over the next four months, up from 32.1 percent in June. 62.1 percent of executives indicate they expect the “same” access to capital to fund business, a decrease from 67.9 percent last month. None expect “less” access to capital, unchanged from the previous month.
  • When asked, 37.9 percent of the executives report they expect to hire more employees over the next four months, down from 46.2 percent in June. 62.1 percent expect no change in headcount over the next four months, an increase from 50 percent last month. None expect to hire fewer employees, down from 3.9 percent in June.
  • 27.6 percent of the leadership evaluate the current U.S. economy as “excellent,” an increase from 22.2 percent the previous month. 72.4 percent of the leadership evaluate the current U.S. economy as “fair,” down from 77.8 percent in June. None evaluate it as “poor,” unchanged from last month.
  • 48.3 percent of the survey respondents believe that U.S. economic conditions will get “better” over the next six months, a decrease from 51.9 percent in June. 51.7 percent indicate they believe the U.S. economy will “stay the same” over the next six months, an increase from 48.2 percent last month. None believe economic conditions in the U.S. will worsen over the next six months, unchanged from the previous month.
  • In July 51.7 percent of respondents indicate they believe their company will increase spending on business development activities during the next six months, up from 48.2 percent last month. 48.3 percent believe there will be “no change” in business development spending, a decrease from 51.9 percent in June. None believe there will be a decrease in spending, unchanged from last month.