The US Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry (MCI-EFI) for May 2025 bounced back two basis points on April’s index to land at 44.5 for the month, as the industry continues to ride uncertain economic conditions.

The MCI-EFI is a monthly survey produced by the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation, which acts as a qualitative assessment of prevailing business conditions and the future expectations of key executives from the USD1.3 trillion equipment finance sector.

When asked about business conditions over the next four months, just 4% of survey respondents believe business conditions will improve in the next four months, down from 15.4% in April. 

Of those surveyed, 52% believe business conditions will remain the same over the next four months, up from 26.9% in April, while 44% believe business conditions will worsen, down from April’s 57.7%.

None of those surveyed evaluate the current US economy as “excellent,” unchanged from April, with 84% evaluating the economy as “fair,” down from 88.5% the previous month.

MCI-EFI survey respondent Joseph Hines, head of equipment with Trustmark Bank Equipment Finance, says of the outlook for the future that pipelines and funded business have picked up after a slow start to the year and a slower than expected year-end in 2024. 

“Some of the uptick in new business may be a mix of new projects, maintenance capex, and pulling purchases forward due to tariff fears and rising costs,” Hines says. “Time will tell how much of the new business are purchases being accelerated, but we remain optimistic the tariff discussions and outcomes will be positive and a return to some normalcy in the market.”

Charles Jones, senior VP 1st Equipment Finance, adds: “As more trade partners come to the table, confidence in Trump’s aggressive trade policies increases. Combined with a bolstering of US manufacturing, things should get better. The overall effect of tariffs is still being debated, but the consensus seems to be not as fatalistic as previously measured.”