The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation’s April 2022 Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry (MCI-EFI) dropped to 56.1 from the March index of 58.2.
When asked about the outlook for the future, MCI-EFI survey respondent Jim DeFrank, EVP/COO, Isuzu Finance of America, Inc., said:
“There is huge pent-up demand for all kinds of products. In the transportation space, the final mile vehicles are in great demand, and we see this continuing for at least 12 to 18 months. Once the supply chain catches up, we will see some kind of normalcy return to the equipment finance industry.”
Equipment leasing outlook
- Some 14.8 percent of respondents said that they believe business conditions will improve over the next four months, a decrease from 21.4 percent in March. About one in five (22.2 percent) said that they believe business conditions will worsen, a decrease from 28.6 percent in March.
- Three in 10 (29.6 percent) said demand for leases and loans to fund capital expenditures (capex) will increase over the next four months, up from 25 percent in March. Some 14.8 percent said demand will decline, up from none in March.
- Some 14.8 percent evaluate the current U.S. economy as “excellent,” an increase from 3.6 percent the previous month. Three-quarters (74.1 percent) evaluate the current U.S. economy as “fair,” down from 85.7 percent in March. One in 10 (11.1 percent) said it is “poor,” a slight increase from 10.7 percent last month.
- Some 7.4 percent of respondents said that U.S. economic conditions will get “better” over the next six months, relatively unchanged from 7.1 percent in March. Four of 10 (40.7 percent) said economic conditions will worsen over the next six months, an increase from 35.7 percent the previous month.
Source: Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation
