The February 2023 Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry (MCI-EFI) rose to 51.8, up from 48.4 in January, reports the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation. The index reports a qualitative assessment of both the prevailing business conditions and expectations for the future.

When asked about the outlook for the future, MCI-EFI survey respondent Jim DeFrank, EVP and COO, Isuzu Finance of America, said in a statement, “We still see pent-up demand in the light and medium-duty segment of transportation. However, we feel it will wane by the third or fourth quarter of this year.”

February MCI-EFI results

When asked to assess their business conditions over the next four months, 16.1 percent of the executives responding said that they believe business conditions will improve, an increase from none in January. Some 22.6 percent responded that business conditions will worsen, a decrease from 30.8 percent in January.

About one in 10 (9.7 percent) of respondents said demand for leases and loans to fund capital expenditures will increase over the next four months, an increase from none in January. One in five (19.4 percent) believe demand will decline, up from 11.5 percent in January.

None of the respondents evaluate the current U.S. economy as “excellent,” unchanged from the previous month. Some 87.1 percent evaluate the economy as “fair,” up from 84.6 percent in January, and 12.9 percent evaluate it as “poor,” a decrease from 15.4 percent last month.

Only 3.2 percent of respondents said that they believe that U.S. economic conditions will get “better” over the next six months, a decrease from 7.7 percent in January. Some 41.9 percent said that they believe economic conditions will worsen, an increase from 34.6 percent the previous month.

Source: Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation