An index measuring confidence in the equipment-leasing industry moved up in November to 56.1 from 55.0 in October.
The Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry (MCI-EFI) is from the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation. The survey was conducted prior to the November elections.
About one quarter (26.9 percent) of respondents said they believe business conditions will improve over the next four months, down from 29.6 percent in October. About half (53.9 percent) said they believe business conditions will remain the same over the next four months, an increase from 51.9 percent the previous month. Some 19.2 percent said they believe business conditions will worsen, an increase from 18.5 percent in October.
About one in five (19.2 percent) of respondents said they believe demand for leases and loans to fund capital expenditures (capex) will increase over the next four months, down from 22.2 percent in October. Some 11.5 percent said they believe demand will decline, relatively unchanged from 11.1 percent in October.
About one-quarter (23.1 percent) expect more access to capital to fund equipment acquisitions over the next four months, down from 33.3 percent in October. None expect “less” access to capital, unchanged from the previous month.
None of respondents evaluated the current U.S. economy as “excellent,” unchanged from the previous month. Some 76.9 percent evaluate the current U.S. economy as “fair,” up from 55.6 percent in October, and 23.1 percent evaluate it as “poor,” down from 44.4 percent last month.
About one-third (34.6 percent) of respondents said they believe that U.S. economic conditions will get “better” over the next six months, an increase from 25.9 percent in October. Half indicate they believe the U.S. economy will “stay the same,” a decrease from 59.3 percent last month. Some 15.4 percent said they believe economic conditions in the U.S. will worsen over the next six months, up from 14.8 percent the previous month.
Source: Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation
