Equipment Leasing and Finance Industry Confidence Remains Steady in December

The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation (the Foundation) recently released the December 2015 Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry (MCI-EFI). 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 $1.046 trillion equipment finance sector. Overall, confidence in the equipment finance market is 60.2, unchanged from the November index.

When asked about the outlook for the future, MCI-EFI survey respondent Valerie Hayes Jester, President, Brandywine Capital Associates Inc., said, “December activity is strong as we traditionally experience a last minute push to acquire equipment from procrastinators. Looking a bit further out we still see uncertainty as events continue to unfold, gas prices decrease and the presidential election continues to baffle.”

December 2015 Survey Results:

The overall MCI-EFI is 60.2, unchanged from the November index.

• • When asked to assess their business conditions over the next four months, 12.5 percent of executives responding said they believe business conditions will improve over the next four months, a decrease from 14.8 percent in November. 75.0 percent of respondents believe business conditions will remain the same over the next four months, an increase from 74.1 percent in November. 12.5 percent believe business conditions will worsen, an increase from 11.1 percent the previous month.
• • 8.3 percent of survey respondents believe demand for leases and loans to fund capital expenditures (capex) will increase over the next four months, a decrease from 22.2 percent in November. 79.2 percent believe demand will “remain the same” during the same four-month time period, up from 66.7 percent the previous month. 12.5 percent believe demand will decline, an increase from 11.1 percent who believed so in November.
• • 25.0 percent of executives expect more access to capital to fund equipment acquisitions over the next four months, an increase from 22.2 percent in November. 70.8 percent of survey respondents indicate they expect the “same” access to capital to fund business, a decrease from 77.8 percent the previous month. 4.2 percent expect “less” access to capital, an increase from none last month.
• • When asked, 45.8 percent of the executives report they expect to hire more employees over the next four months, a decrease from 48.1 percent in November. 50.0 percent expect no change in headcount over the next four months, up from 48.1 percent last month. 4.2 percent expect to hire fewer employees, up from 3.7 percent in November.
• • 4.2 percent of the leadership evaluate the current U.S. economy as “excellent,” an increase from 3.7 percent last month. 95.8 percent of the leadership evaluate the current U.S. economy as “fair,” up from 92.6 percent in November. None rate it as “poor,” a decrease from 3.7 percent the previous month.
  • 8.3 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 November. 79.2 percent of survey respondents indicate they believe the U.S. economy will “stay the same” over the next six months, an increase from 77.8 percent the previous month. 12.5 percent believe economic conditions in the U.S. will worsen over the next six months, an increase from 3.7 percent who believed so last month.
• • In December, 50.0 percent of respondents indicate they believe their company will increase spending on business development activities during the next six months, an increase from 44.4 percent in November. 45.8 percent believe there will be “no change” in business development spending, a decrease from 51.9 percent the previous month. 4.2 percent believe there will be a decrease in spending, an increase from 3.7 percent last month.

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