Ralph Petta

The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association's (ELFA) Monthly Leasing and Finance Index (MLFI), which reports economic activity from 25 companies representing a cross-section of the USD1 trillion equipment finance sector, showed their overall new business volume for January was USD6.9 billion, up 10% year-over-year from new business volume in January 2017. Volume, however, fell 46% month-to-month from USD12.8 billion in December, following the typical end-of-quarter, end-of-year spike in new business activity.

Credit approvals totalled 76.9% in January, down from 77.6% in December.

Separately, the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation's Monthly Confidence Index (MCI-EFI) in February is 73.2, easing from 75.3 in January, which was an all-time high level for the index.

ELFA president and CEO Ralph Petta says, "A confident commercial sector of the US economy showed itself with double-digit growth in the dollar volume of financed equipment for the month of January. Despite a spike in delinquencies, which bears a watchful eye for signs of deterioration in credit markets in the coming months, the new year gets off to a strong start for the equipment finance industry. Business owners continue to expand their operations and acquire productive assets, even as interest rates edge up ever so slightly and the Fed is poised to cool an overheated economy."

"The equipment finance industry enjoyed a great year in 2017 and is maintaining that momentum through January as evidenced by this month's MLFI," notes James Cress, vice president and general manager, Stryker Flex Financial. "Optimism continues to be fuelled by tax reform and favourable interest rates. Potential borrowers planning for the upcoming lease accounting changes in 2019 have spurred a wave of innovation towards consumption models and managed services agreements in lieu of traditional financing products.

"Barring larger macroeconomic events, all of this should result in a dynamic and growing equipment finance market in 2018."