Equipment Leasing & Finance Industry Confidence Eases Further in November

Washington, D.C. (November 15, 2018)—The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation has released the November 2018 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 trillion equipment finance sector. Overall, confidence in the equipment finance market eased further in November. 

November 2018 Survey Results:
The overall MCI-EFI is 58.5, a decrease from 63.2 in October.  

•   When asked to assess their business conditions over the next four months, 10.7 percent of executives responding said they believe business conditions will improve over the next 4 months, a decrease from 18.5 percent in October; 78.6 percent of respondents believe business conditions will remain the same over the next four months, a decrease from 81.5 percent the previous month; 10.7 percent believe business conditions will worsen, an increase from none who believed so the previous month.

•   7.1 percent of survey respondents believe demand for leases and loans to fund capital expenditures (capex) will increase over the next 4 months, a decrease from 25.9 percent in October; 82.1 percent believe demand will remain the same during the same 4-month time period, an increase from 70.4 percent the previous month; 10.7 percent believe demand will decline, up from 3.7 percent who believed so in October.

•   14.3 percent of the respondents expect more access to capital to fund equipment acquisitions over the next four months, down slightly from 14.8 percent in October; 85.7 percent of executives indicate they expect the same access to capital to fund business, a slight increase from 85.2 percent last month; None expect less access to capital, unchanged from last month.

•   When asked, 42.9 percent of the executives report they expect to hire more employees over the next 4 months, a decrease from 44.4 percent in October; 46.4 percent expect no change in headcount over the next 4 months, a decrease from 48.2 percent last month; 10.7 percent expect to hire fewer employees, up from 7.4 percent last month.

•   57.1 percent of the leadership evaluate the current United States economy as excellent, an increase from 51.9 percent in October; 42.9 percent of the leadership evaluate the current U.S. economy as fair, a decrease from 48.2 percent last month; None evaluate it as poor, unchanged from last month.

•   3.6 percent of the survey respondents believe that U.S. economic conditions will get better over the next 6 months, a decrease from 11.1 percent in October; 78.6 percent of survey respondents indicate they believe the U.S. economy will stay the same over the next 6 months, an increase from 74.1 percent the previous month; 17.9 percent believe economic conditions in the U.S. will worsen over the next 6 months, an increase from 14.8 percent in October.

•   In November, 42.9 percent of respondents indicate they believe their company will increase spending on business development activities during the next 6 months, a decrease from 44.4 percent in October; 57 percent believe there will be no change in business development spending, an increase from 55.6 percent the previous month; None believe there will be a decrease in spending, unchanged from last month.

For more information, visit leasefoundation.org.