ELFA Reports Equipment Finance Sector Business Volume Up 13 Percent Since August 2013

The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s (ELFA) Monthly Leasing and Finance Index (MLFI-25), which reports economic activity from 25 companies representing a cross section of the $827 billion equipment finance sector, showed their overall new business volume for August was $7.2 billion, up 13 percent from new business volume in August 2013. Month over month, new business volume was down 9 percent from July. Year to date, cumulative new business volume increased 6 percent compared to 2013.

Receivables over 30 days increased from the previous month to 1.3 percent, and were up from 1 percent in the same period in 2013. Charge-offs were unchanged for the fifth consecutive month at an all-time low of 0.2 percent.

Credit approvals totaled 79.5 percent in August, a slight decrease from 80.3 percent the previous month. Total headcount for equipment finance companies was up 1 percent year over year.

Separately, the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation’s Monthly Confidence Index (MCI-EFI) for September is 60.2, an increase from the previous month’s index of 58.9.

ELFA President and CEO William G. Sutton, CAE, said: “Continued strength in new business volume reflects the uptick in overall economic activity most economists forecast for the second half of 2014. Solid fundamentals—modest GDP growth; an improving labor market; increased consumer spending, as evidenced by strong auto sales; and low interest rates—all bode well for continued business investment in general, and the equipment finance sector, in particular. Credit quality appears manageable as well, although the index shows a slight uptick in delinquencies. Tempering this relatively good news is concern over recent geopolitical events relating to the fight against terrorism.”

Larry R. Stevens, President and Chief Executive Officer, Med One Capital, said, “The YTD-2014 metric measured by the MLFI-25 demonstrates a solid year in the equipment finance industry. If the month-to-month trends continue for the remainder of 2014, our industry will experience the strongest new business performance since well before the beginning of the recession. The industry seems to have recovered much of the strength and momentum that was lost during the financial meltdown and resultant uncertainties experienced in 2009 and 2010. This trend is largely consistent with what we are experiencing in healthcare equipment financing. The high quality reflected in the portfolios of the reporting companies demonstrates that in the face of increasing volume, credit quality remains a high priority within our industry. If this continues, it will serve us well as pressure grows to increase new business volumes in the years ahead.”

The MLFI-25 is the only index that reflects capex, or the volume of commercial equipment financed in the U.S. The MLFI-25 is released globally at 8 a.m. Eastern time from Washington, D.C., each month on the day before the U.S. Department of Commerce releases the durable goods report. The MLFI-25 is a financial indicator that complements the durable goods report and other economic indexes, including the Institute for Supply Management Index, which reports economic activity in the manufacturing sector. Together with the MLFI-25 these reports provide a complete view of the status of productive assets in the U.S. economy: equipment produced, acquired and financed.

The MLFI-25 is a time series that reflects two years of business activity for the 25 companies currently participating in the survey. The latest MLFI-25, including methodology and participants, is available now.