{"id":59875,"date":"2024-04-18T07:38:38","date_gmt":"2024-04-18T14:38:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/?p=59875"},"modified":"2024-04-18T07:38:41","modified_gmt":"2024-04-18T14:38:41","slug":"equipment-finance-industry-confidence-eases-in-april","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/news\/2024\/04\/equipment-finance-industry-confidence-eases-in-april\/","title":{"rendered":"Equipment Finance Industry Confidence Eases in April"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><em>Washington, DC (April 18, 2024)<\/em> \u2014 The Equipment Leasing &amp; Finance Foundation (the Foundation) releases the April 2024 Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry (MCI-EFI) today. The index reports a qualitative assessment of both the prevailing business conditions and expectations for the future as reported by key executives from the $1 trillion equipment finance sector. Overall, confidence in the equipment finance market is 52.9, the second-highest index in the last two years after last month\u2019s index of 55.2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>When asked about the outlook for the future, MCI-EFI survey respondent Mark Bonanno, president and COO, North Mill Equipment Finance, said, \u201cMonetary policy has not been as effective in taming inflation that recently came in at an annual rate of 3.2%. The U.S. government as well as the consumer (via credit cards) have unsustainable debt levels, and that will eventually cause cracks in the economy.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>April 2024 Survey Results:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The overall MCI-EFI is 52.9, a decrease from the March index of 55.2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul><li>When asked to assess their business conditions over the next four months, 10.7% of the executives responding said they believe business conditions will improve over the next four months, a decrease from 19.4% in March. 85.7% believe business conditions will remain the same over the next four months, up from 77.4% the previous month. 3.6% believe business conditions will worsen, relatively unchanged from 3.2% in March.<\/li><li>7.1% of the survey respondents believe demand for leases and loans to fund capital expenditures (capex) will increase over the next four months, down from 25.8% in March. 92.9% believe demand will \u201cremain the same\u201d during the same four-month time period, up from 71% the previous month. None believe demand will decline, a decrease from 3.2% in March.<\/li><li>14.3% of the respondents expect more access to capital to fund equipment acquisitions over the next four months, down from 16.1% in March. 71.4% of executives indicate they expect the \u201csame\u201d access to capital to fund business, down from 74.2% last month. 14.3% expect \u201cless\u201d access to capital, up from 9.7% the previous month.<\/li><li>When asked, 17.9% of the executives report they expect to hire more employees over the next four months, a decrease from 19.4% in March. 71.4% expect no change in headcount over the next four months, up from 67.7% last month. 10.7% expect to hire fewer employees, down from 12.9% in March.<\/li><li>None of the leadership evaluate the current U.S. economy as \u201cexcellent,\u201d unchanged from the previous month. 92.9% of the leadership evaluate the current U.S. economy as \u201cfair,\u201d down from 93.6% in March. 7.1% evaluate it as \u201cpoor,\u201d up from 6.5% last month.<\/li><li>17.9% of the survey respondents believe that U.S. economic conditions will get \u201cbetter\u201d over the next six months, down from 25.8% in March. 71.4% indicate they believe the U.S. economy will \u201cstay the same\u201d over the next six months, an increase from 54.8% last month. 10.7% believe economic conditions in the U.S. will worsen over the next six months, a decrease from 19.4% the previous month.<\/li><li>In April, 17.9% of respondents indicate they believe their company will increase spending on business development activities during the next six months, a decrease from 22.6% the previous month. 78.6% believe there will be \u201cno change\u201d in business development spending, up from 64.5% in March. 3.6% believe there will be a decrease in spending, down from 12.9% last month.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>April 2024 MCI-EFI Survey Comments from Industry Executive Leadership:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Bank, Middle Ticket<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cOur business is focused on agriculture and rural America. In many cases, ag producer profitability is down or expected to be down compared to the levels of recent years. This situation could make the cash flow and liquidity preservation benefits of a lease more attractive and valuable than they have been. The offset is that credit quality may be more of a challenge, but we expect it to remain quite manageable.\u201d<br><em>\u2014 Jason Lueders, president, Farm Credit Leasing<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Independent, Small Ticket<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe overspending by the Federal government is contributing greatly to driving up inflation.\u201d<br><em>\u2014 James D. Jenks, CEO, Global Finance and Leasing Services, LLC<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>How may I access the MCI-EFI?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Survey results are posted on the Foundation <a href=\"https:\/\/www.leasefoundation.org\/industry-resources\/monthly-confidence-index\/\">website<\/a>. Details about the MCI, including who participates, how it\u2019s designed, and the survey respondent demographics are also available at the link above.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>###<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>About the Foundation<\/strong><br>The <a href=\"http:\/\/www.leasefoundation.org\">Equipment Leasing &amp; Finance Foundation<\/a> is a 501c3 non-profit organization that propels the equipment finance sector\u2014and its people\u2014forward through industry-specific knowledge, intelligence, and student talent development programs that contribute to industry innovation, individual careers, and the advancement of the equipment leasing and finance industry. The Foundation is funded through charitable individual and corporate donations. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Washington, DC (April 18, 2024) \u2014 The Equipment Leasing &amp; Finance Foundation (the Foundation) releases the April 2024 Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry (MCI-EFI) today. The index reports a qualitative assessment of both the prevailing business conditions and expectations for the future as reported by key executives from the $1 trillion equipment finance sector. Overall, confidence in the equipment finance market is 52.9, the second-highest index in the last two years after last month\u2019s index of 55.2. When asked about the outlook for the future, MCI-EFI survey respondent Mark Bonanno, president and COO, North Mill Equipment Finance, said, \u201cMonetary policy has not been as effective in taming inflation that recently came in at an annual rate of 3.2%. The U.S. government as well as the consumer (via credit cards) have unsustainable debt levels, and that will eventually cause cracks in the economy.\u201d April 2024 Survey Results: The overall MCI-EFI is 52.9, a decrease from the March index of 55.2. When asked to assess their business conditions over the next four months, 10.7% of the executives responding said they believe business conditions will improve over the next four months, a decrease from 19.4% in March. 85.7% believe business conditions will remain the same over the next four months, up from 77.4% the previous month. 3.6% believe business conditions will worsen, relatively unchanged from 3.2% in March. 7.1% of the survey respondents believe demand for leases and loans to fund capital expenditures (capex) will increase over the next four months, down from 25.8% in March. 92.9% believe demand will \u201cremain the same\u201d during the same four-month time period, up from 71% the previous month. None believe demand will decline, a decrease from 3.2% in March. 14.3% of the respondents expect more access to capital to fund equipment acquisitions over the next four months, down from 16.1% in March. 71.4% of executives indicate they expect the \u201csame\u201d access to capital to fund business, down from 74.2% last month. 14.3% expect \u201cless\u201d access to capital, up from 9.7% the previous month. When asked, 17.9% of the executives report they expect to hire more employees over the next four months, a decrease from 19.4% in March. 71.4% expect no change in headcount over the next four months, up from 67.7% last month. 10.7% expect to hire fewer employees, down from 12.9% in March. None of the leadership evaluate the current U.S. economy as \u201cexcellent,\u201d unchanged from the previous month. 92.9% of the leadership evaluate the current U.S. economy as \u201cfair,\u201d down from 93.6% in March. 7.1% evaluate it as \u201cpoor,\u201d up from 6.5% last month. 17.9% of the survey respondents believe that U.S. economic conditions will get \u201cbetter\u201d over the next six months, down from 25.8% in March. 71.4% indicate they believe the U.S. economy will \u201cstay the same\u201d over the next six months, an increase from 54.8% last month. 10.7% believe economic conditions in the U.S. will worsen over the next six months, a decrease from 19.4% the previous month. In April, 17.9% of respondents indicate they believe their company will increase spending on business development activities during the next six months, a decrease from 22.6% the previous month. 78.6% believe there will be \u201cno change\u201d in business development spending, up from 64.5% in March. 3.6% believe there will be a decrease in spending, down from 12.9% last month. April 2024 MCI-EFI Survey Comments from Industry Executive Leadership: Bank, Middle Ticket \u201cOur business is focused on agriculture and rural America. In many cases, ag producer profitability is down or expected to be down compared to the levels of recent years. This situation could make the cash flow and liquidity preservation benefits of a lease more attractive and valuable than they have been. The offset is that credit quality may be more of a challenge, but we expect it to remain quite manageable.\u201d\u2014 Jason Lueders, president, Farm Credit Leasing Independent, Small Ticket \u201cThe overspending by the Federal government is contributing greatly to driving up inflation.\u201d\u2014 James D. Jenks, CEO, Global Finance and Leasing Services, LLC How may I access the MCI-EFI? Survey results are posted on the Foundation website. Details about the MCI, including who participates, how it\u2019s designed, and the survey respondent demographics are also available at the link above. ### About the FoundationThe Equipment Leasing &amp; Finance Foundation is a 501c3 non-profit organization that propels the equipment finance sector\u2014and its people\u2014forward through industry-specific knowledge, intelligence, and student talent development programs that contribute to industry innovation, individual careers, and the advancement of the equipment leasing and finance industry. The Foundation is funded through charitable individual and corporate donations.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":66,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[86],"tags":[2194],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59875"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/66"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=59875"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59875\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":59876,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/59875\/revisions\/59876"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=59875"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=59875"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.enxmag.com\/twii\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=59875"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}