Washington, D.C. (Jan. 29, 2019)—The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA), which represents the $1 trillion equipment finance sector, has revealed its Top 10 Equipment Acquisition Trends for 2019. Given U.S. businesses, nonprofits and government agencies will spend over $1.8 trillion in capital goods or fixed business investment (including software) this year, financing a majority of those assets, these trends impact a significant portion of the U.S. economy.

ELFA President and chief executive officer Ralph Petta said, “Equipment acquisition plays a critical role in driving the supply chains across all U.S. manufacturing and service sectors. Equipment leasing and financing provide the source of funding for approximately 60 percent of U.S. businesses to acquire the productive assets they need to operate and grow.”

ELFA distilled recent research data, including the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation’s 2019 Equipment Leasing & Finance U.S. Economic Outlook, industry participants’ expertise and member input from ELFA meetings and conferences in compiling the trends. ELFA forecasts the following Top 10 Equipment Acquisition Trends for 2019:

 1.  Capital spending will remain in solidly positive territory. 
 2.  The share of equipment acquisitions that are financed will likely remain stable. 
 3.  A majority of key equipment verticals will have solid investment growth. 
 4.  U.S. businesses will feel the impact of global economic headwinds. 
 5.  Leased and financed acquisitions will get a boost from regulatory and legislative changes.
 6.  Technological advancements and avoiding obsolescence will be top priorities of capital spending. 
 7.  Innovations in equipment management will accelerate to meet the growing complexity of setting residual values.
 8.  Uncertainty around interest rate hikes will have eyes on Fed activity. 
 9.  Federal government activity will pose opportunities and challenges to capital spending. 
10.  External “wild cards” will factor into capital spending decisions. 

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