Equipment Finance Industry confidence eases in September

Equipment Finance Industry confidence eases in September

The Equipment Leasing and Finance Foundation recently released the September 2022 Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry (MCI-EFI). 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. Overall, confidence in the equipment finance market is 48.7, a decrease from the August index of 50.

When asked about the outlook for the future, MCI-EFI survey respondent Bruce J. Winter, president, FSG Capital, said, “The Fed has made it crystal clear that bringing inflation back to target is its number one goal. More increases to the Fed funds rate are coming, as is quantitative tightening to the tune of $95 billion per month. Highly leveraged participants in our industry will pay the price, as well as highly leveraged borrowers/lessees. While the definition of a true recession is being hotly debated, there is little doubt that more challenging times are ahead and the hopes of a ‘soft landing’ are much less likely.”  

September 2022 Survey Results

The overall MCI-EFI is 48.7, a decrease from the August index of 50.

  • When asked to assess their business conditions over the next four months, 3.6% of executives responding said they believe business conditions will improve over the next four months, a decrease from 14.8% in August. 75% believe business conditions will remain the same over the next four months, up from 51.9% the previous month. 21.4% believe business conditions will worsen, a decrease from 33.3% in August.
  • 10.7% of the survey respondents believe demand for leases and loans to fund capital expenditures (capex) will increase over the next four months, an increase from 7.7% in August. 71.4% believe demand will “remain the same” during the same four-month time period, a decrease from 76.9% the previous month. 17.9% believe demand will decline, up from 15.4% in August.
  • 14.3% of the respondents expect more access to capital to fund equipment acquisitions over the next four months, up from 7.4% in August. 71.4% of executives indicate they expect the “same” access to capital to fund business, a decrease from 85.2% last month. 14.3% expect “less” access to capital, up from 7.4% the previous month.
  • When asked, 28.6% of the executives report they expect to hire more employees over the next four months, up from 25.9% in August. 64.3% expect no change in headcount over the next four months, a decrease from 74.1% last month. 7.1% expect to hire fewer employees, up from none in August.
  • 7.1% of the leadership evaluate the current U.S. economy as “excellent,” an increase from none the previous month. 71.4% of the leadership evaluate the current U.S. economy as “fair,” down from 85.2% in August. 21.4% evaluate it as “poor,” an increase from 14.8% last month.
  • 7.1% of the survey respondents believe that U.S. economic conditions will get “better” over the next six months, a decrease from 11.1% in August. 39.3% indicate they believe the U.S. economy will “stay the same” over the next six months, a decrease from 51.9% last month. 53.6% believe economic conditions in the U.S. will worsen over the next six months, an increase from 37% the previous month.
  • In September 28.6% of respondents indicate they believe their company will increase spending on business development activities during the next six months, down from 29.6% the previous month. 71.4% believe there will be “no change” in business development spending, up from 70.4% in August. None believe there will be a decrease in spending, unchanged from last month.

You May Also Like

Mercedes-Benz delivers truck with 1,000-ton towing capacity to German customer

The maximum trailer load of this Arocs SLT 4463 AS 8×6 is 1,000 tons.

Mercedes-heavy-duty-global-1400

Mercedes-Benz Trucks has delivered a specially converted truck for heavy-duty transport (SLT) to the Viktor Baumann company. The maximum trailer load of this Arocs SLT 4463 AS 8x6 is 1,000 tons. For the transportation of such particularly large loads, the truck will drive in combination with several coupled trucks, so the gross combination weight can exceed 1,000 tons. The fleet says it will use their new truck for the transportation of transformers and heat exchangers.

United Natural Foods to deploy eCascadia and VNR Electric trucks

UNFI will combine these trucks with refrigerated trailers cooled by Carrier’s all-electric Vector eCool TRU.

United-Natural-Foods-1400
Daimler Truck delivers Freightliner eCascadias to Reyes Coca-Cola Bottling

The 20 Freightliner eCascadias are expected to result in the reduced use of 40,000 gallons of diesel fuel per year. 

Daimler-Trucks-Coke
Nicholas Trucking on cutting costs and emissions

Early success with propane-powered trucks has the fleet planning to replace more diesel trucks.

nicholas-propane-truck2-1400
Kenworth ADAS adds new features for T680

Adaptive Cruise Control Stop and Auto Go and Highway Departure Braking to Zero features are now available.

Kenworth-Donates-T680

Other Posts

Truck driving safety requires attention

It’s hard to focus on safety when you’re focused on shifting. Episode two of the Fuel Efficiency Faceoff shows why.

EPS-2-faceoff2-1400
ACT Research: For-Hire Demand Outlook remains soft this winter

Freight demand fundamentals are gradually improving, ACT says.

generic-highway-city
Used Class 8 truck prices fell slightly in September; auction prices rose

ACT Research expects lower prices through the end of 2023.

Used-Cl8-Retail-Summary-Heat-Map-September-2023-Final
Class 8 orders down but within expectations, according to FTR

FTR reports that Class 8 orders for October came in at 28,000 units.

june-column-truck-generic