The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation releases its November 2019 Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry (MCI-EFI). Overall, confidence in the equipment finance market is 54.9, an increase from the October index of 51.4.

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 $900 billion equipment finance sector.

When asked about the outlook for the future, MCI-EFI survey respondent Quentin Cote, CLFP, President, Mintaka Financial, LLC, said, “It appears we have absorbed the headwind of the trade wars. Consumers still seem to be pulling the economy forward.”

November 2019 Survey Results

The overall MCI-EFI is 54.9, an increase from 51.4 in October.  

• When asked to assess their business conditions over the next four months, 13.3 percent of executives responding said they believe business conditions will improve over the next four months, up from 9.7 percent in October; 73.3 percent of respondents believe business conditions will remain the same over the next four months, an increase from 71 percent the previous month; and 13.3 percent believe business conditions will worsen, down from 19.4 percent in October.
• 13.3 percent of the survey respondents believe demand for leases and loans to fund capital expenditures (CAPEX) will increase over the next four months, unchanged from October. In addition, 63.3 percent believe demand will “remain the same” during the same four-month time period, a decrease from 73.3 percent the previous month; 23.3 percent believe demand will decline, down from 13.3 percent in October.
• 20 percent of the respondents expect more access to capital to fund equipment acquisitions over the next four months, up from 16.7 percent in October. Eighty percent of executives indicate they expect the “same” access to capital to fund business, unchanged from last month. None expect “less” access to capital, a decrease from 3.3 percent in October.
• When asked, 26.7 percent of the executives report they expect to hire more employees over the next four months, an increase from 16.1 percent in October; 73.3 percent expect no change in headcount over the next four months, an increase from 71 percent last month. None expect to hire fewer employees, down from 12.9 percent the previous month.
• 16.7 percent of the leadership evaluate the current U.S. economy as “excellent,” down from 19.4 percent the previous month; 83.3 percent of the leadership evaluate the current U.S. economy as “fair,” up from 80.7 percent in October. None evaluate it as “poor,” unchanged from last month.
• 10 percent of the survey respondents believe that U.S. economic conditions will get “better” over the next six months, up from 3.2 percent in October. And 76.7 percent of survey respondents indicate they believe the U.S. economy will “stay the same” over the next six months, an increase from 58.1 percent the previous month. 13.3 percent believe economic conditions in the U.S. will worsen over the next six months, a decrease from 38.7 percent in October.
• In November, 30 percent of respondents indicate they believe their company will increase spending on business development activities during the next six months, an increase from 25.8 percent last month. Further, 63.3 percent believe there will be “no change” in business development spending, a decrease from 71 percent in October; 6.7 percent believe there will be a decrease in spending, an increase from 3.2 percent last month.

November 2019 MCI-EFI Survey Comments from Industry Executive Leadership

Bank, Small Ticket
“Wintrust Specialty Finance is optimistic about the continued volume and credit quality we are experiencing.” — David Normandin, CLFP, President and CEO, Wintrust Specialty Finance

Bank, Middle Ticket
“We do not expect significant investment in the agriculture vertical until trade policy issues are resolved.” — Michael Romanowski, President, Farm Credit Leasing