Confidence in Equipment Finance Down in April

April 22, 2019

The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation (ELFF) reported that confidence in the equipment finance market decreased in April to 58.3, down from 60.4 in March.

When asked to assess business conditions over the next four months, 13.3 percent of executives responding said they believe conditions will improve, down from 20 percent in March. About three of four anticipate business will remain the same, an increase from 70 percent the previous month. About 10 percent said conditions will remain unchanged.

Nearly 6.7 percent of the respondents expect more access to capital to fund equipment acquisitions over the next four months, down from 13.3 percent in March. About 93  percent of executives indicate they expect the “same” access to capital to fund business, an increase from 86.7 percent last month.

When asked, 46.7 percent of the executives reported they expect to hire more employees over the next four months, unchanged from March. About 40 percent expect no change, and 13.3 percent expect to hire fewer employees.

The current U.S. economy is considered “excellent” by 40 percent of the leadership, and 6.7 percent believe they will improve over the next six months. None evaluated it as “poor,” and 60 percent evaluate the economy as “fair.”

Source: ELFF