January confidence in the equipment finance market is unchanged from December, according to the Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry (MCI-EFI). The January index was 63.9, unchanged from December.
The index, provided by the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation (ELFF), 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.
“It’s all about supply chain right now,” said respondent Jim DeFrank, EVP/COO for Isuzu Finance of America, in a prepared statement. “There is demand for equipment, but manufactures are having a hard time satisfying the demand due to parts shortages, workforce issues, etc. Once the supply can match demand, we will see a nice increase in finance and leasing volumes. Hopefully, by the second half of 2022.”
When asked to assess their business conditions over the next four months, 25.9 percent of executives responding said they believe business conditions will improve, a decrease from 34.6 percent in December. Some 3.7 percent said business conditions will worsen, unchanged from December.
About one in four (25.9 percent) of respondents said demand for leases and loans to fund capital expenditures will increase over the next four months, down from 26.9 percent in December. About 3.7% said they believe demand will decline, up from none in December.
Some 14.8 percent of respondents evaluate the current U.S. economy as “excellent,” a decrease from 19.2 percent the previous month, and 81.5 percent rate it as “fair,” up from 76.9 percent in December.
Three of 10 (29.6 percent) of respondents said they believe that U.S. economic conditions will get “better” over the next six months, an increase from 19.2 percent in December. Some 7.4 percent said economic conditions in the U.S. will worsen over the next six months, a decrease from 19.2 percent the previous month.
Source: ELFF
