The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation released the February 2013 Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry recently.

Overall, confidence in the equipment finance market is up for the third consecutive month at 58.7, an increase from the January index of 54.2, reflecting industry participants’ increasing optimism despite a wary eye on economic conditions and government management of fiscal policies. 

When asked about the outlook for the future, MCI survey respondent Anthony Cracchiolo, president and CEO, Vendor Services, U.S. Bank Equipment Finance, said, “The industry continues to look stable and positioned on solid footing for future growth. The replacement economy is well under way. However, expansion of the markets is still questionable. The next several months will tell the story for 2013 and answer the question of whether 2013 will see moderate or significant growth. In either case, the equipment finance industry will be on the leading edge of the overall economy.”

February 2013 Survey Results:

The overall MCI-EFI is 58.7, up from the January index of 54.2.

When asked to assess their business conditions over the next four months:

• 20% of executives responding said they believe business conditions will improve over the next four months, up from 6.1% in January. 

• 77.1% of respondents believe business conditions will remain the same over the next four months, down from 87.9% in January. 

• 2.9% believe business conditions will worsen, down from 6.1% the previous month. 

In February, 37.1% of respondents indicate they believe their company will increase spending on business development activities during the next six months, up from 30.3% in January.  Sixty percent believe there will be “no change” in business development spending, down from 69.7% last month, and 2.9% believe there will be a decrease in spending, up from no one who believed so last month.