ELFF confidence reports

Equipment Finance Industry Concerns Linger in May

The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation said the May 2011 Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry (MCI-EFI) showed overall, confidence in the equipment finance market is 52.6, down from the May index of 63.2, indicating lingering industry concerns over the sputtering economic recovery and uncertainties in lease accounting changes.

June 2011 Survey Results:

• When asked to assess their business conditions over the next four months, 5% of executives responding said they believe business conditions will improve, a decrease from 30% in May. 79.5% of respondents believe business conditions will remain the same, an increase from 70% in May. 15.4% of executives believe business conditions will worsen.

• 12.8% of survey respondents believe demand for leases and loans to fund capital expenditures (capex) will increase over the next four months, a decrease from 22% in May. 77% believe demand will “remain the same” during the same four-month time period, a slight decrease from 78% the previous month. 10% believe demand will decline.

• 23% of executives expect more access to capital to fund equipment acquisitions over the next four months, down from 44% in May. 77% of survey respondents indicate they expect the “same” access to capital to fund business, up from 56% the previous month. In the last seven months’ surveys, no one responded that they expect “less” access to capital.

• When asked, 33.3% of the executives reported they expect to hire more employees over the next four months, down from 41% in May. 53.8% expect no change in headcount over the next four months, an increase from 52% last month, while 12.8% expect fewer employees, an increase from 7.0% in May.

• 66.7% of the leadership evaluate the current U.S. economy as “fair,” down from 93% who did in May. 33.3% rate it as “poor,” up from 7.0% last month.

• Five percent of survey respondents believe that U.S. economic conditions will get “better” over the next six months, down from 30% in May. 82% of survey respondents indicate they believe the U.S. economy will “stay the same” over the next six months, up from 63% in May. 12.8% responded that they believe economic conditions in the U.S. will worsen over the next six months, up from 7.0% who believed so last month.

• In June, 28% of respondents indicate they believe their company will increase spending on business development activities during the next six months, down from 37% in May. 69% believe there will be “no change” in business development spending, up from 56% last month, and 2.6% believe there will be a decrease in spending, down from 7.0% who believed so last month.

MCI-EFI respondents are composed of a wide cross section of industry executives, including large-ticket, middle-market and small-ticket banks, independents and captive equipment finance companies. The MCI-EFI uses the same pool of 50 organization leaders to respond monthly to ensure the survey’s integrity. Since the same organizations provide the data from month to month, the results constitute a consistent barometer of the industry’s confidence.

The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit organization that provides vision for the equipment leasing and finance industry through future-focused information and research. Primarily funded through donations, the Foundation is the only organization dedicated to future-oriented, in-depth, independent research for the leasing industry. Visit the Foundation online at http://www.LeaseFoundation.org.