Equipment Leasing and Finance Confidence Eases in April

The Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry (MCI-EFI) eased to a level of 70.7, down from a four-year high of 72.1 in March. In addition, expectations of future hiring also dropped.

April 2015 survey highlights were as follows:

• When asked to assess their business conditions over the next four months, 44.4% of executives responding said they believe business conditions will improve over the next four months, down from 50% in March. 55.6%
• 48.2% of survey respondents believe demand for leases and loans to fund capital expenditures will increase over the next four months, up from 41.7% in March.
• 25.9% of executives expect more access to capital to fund equipment acquisitions over the next four months, up slightly from 25% in March.
• When asked, 51.9% of the executives reported they expect to hire more employees over the next four months, a decrease from 70.8% in March.
• 7.4% of the leadership evaluate the current U.S. economy as “excellent,” down from 12.5% last month. • 40.7% of the survey respondents believe that U.S. economic conditions will get “better” over the next six months, a decrease from 45.8% who believed so in March.
• In April, 59.3% of respondents indicate they believe their company will increase spending on business development activities during the next six months, an increase from 58.3% in March.

Category: Featured, General Update, Management