The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation (the Foundation) released the August 2012 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 $628 billion equipment finance sector. Overall, confidence in the equipment finance market is 50.2, down from the July index of 51.5, reflecting ongoing industry concerns over economic, regulatory and political uncertainty.
When asked about the outlook for the future, MCI survey respondent John McQueen, executive vice president and head of Wells Fargo Equipment Finance, said, “My long term view of the equipment finance industry is strong; the shorter term view of the U.S. economy and worldwide economy is volatile. The U.S. economic growth rate and the stability for the economy will continue to slow business investment.”
August 2012 Survey Results
The overall MCI-EFI is 50.2, down from the July index of 51.5.
• When asked to assess their business conditions over the next four months, 6.3 percent of executives responding said they believe business conditions will improve over the next four months, down slightly from 6.5 percent in July. 78.1 percent of respondents believe business conditions will remain the same over the next four months, up from 71 percent in July. 15.6 percent believe business conditions will worsen, down from 22.6 percent the previous month.
• 6.3 percent of survey respondents believe demand for leases and loans to fund capital expenditures (capex) will increase over the next four months, a decrease from 12.9 percent in July. 75 percent believe demand will “remain the same” during the same four-month time period, up from 71 percent the previous month. 18.8 percent believe demand will decline, up from 16.1 percent in July.
• 15.6 percent of executives expect more access to capital to fund equipment acquisitions over the next four months, down from 19.4 percent in July. 84.4 percent of survey respondents indicate they expect the “same” access to capital to fund business, an increase from 77.4 percent the previous month. No survey respondents expect “less” access to capital, down from 3.2 percent who expected less access in July.
• When asked, 31.3 percent of the executives reported they expect to hire more employees over the next four months, down from 35.5 percent in July. 65.6 percent expect no change in headcount over the next four months, up from 64.5 percent last month. 3.1 percent expect fewer employees, up from no respondents who expected fewer employees in July.
• 68.8 percent of the leadership evaluates the current U.S. economy as “fair,” down from 71 percent last month. 31.3 percent rate it as “poor,” up from 29 percent in July.
• 6.3 percent of survey respondents believe that U.S. economic conditions will get “better” over the next six months, down from 9.7 percent in July. 78.1 percent of survey respondents indicate they believe the U.S. economy will “stay the same” over the next six months, up from 71 percent in July. 15.6 percent believe economic conditions in the U.S. will worsen over the next six months, a decrease from 19.4 percent who believed so last month.
• In August, 15.6 percent of respondents indicate they believe their company will increase spending on business development activities during the next six months, down from 25.8 percent in July. 81.3 percent believe there will be “no change” in business development spending, up from 71 percent last month, and 3.1 percent believe there will be a decrease in spending, unchanged from last month.
For more information, visit www.LeaseFoundation.org.
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