Washington, DC - The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation (the Foundation) releases the September 2013 Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry (MCI-EFI) today. Designed to collect leadership data, the index reports a qualitative assessment of both the prevailing business conditions and expectations for the future as reported by key executives from the $725 billion equipment finance sector. Overall, confidence in the equipment finance market is 61.3, steady with the August index of 61.0.

When asked about the outlook for the future, MCI survey respondent Russell Nelson, President, CoBank Farm Credit Leasing, said, "Stable to slightly favorable economic news, combined with rising equipment costs and interest rates, are driving a continued increase in capital expenditures within a number of industries. Current tax advantages, flexible structures and terms, used equipment values, and attractive fixed rates are contributing to another strong year for equipment financing in 2013, with potential increasing momentum into 2014."

September 2013 Survey Results:
The overall MCI-EFI is 61.3, steady with the August index of 61.0.

When asked to assess their business conditions over the next four months, 30.3% of executives responding said they believe business conditions will improve over the next four months, down from 32.4% in August. 66.7% of respondents believe business conditions will remain the same over the next four months, down from 67.6% in August. 3% believe business conditions will worsen, up from no one who believed so the previous month.

33.3% of survey respondents believe demand for leases and loans to fund capital expenditures (capex) will increase over the next four months, up from 23.5% in August. 63.6% believe demand will "remain the same" during the same four-month time period, down from 76.5% the previous month. 3% believe demand will decline, up from no one who believed so in August.

18.2% of executives expect more access to capital to fund equipment acquisitions over the next four months, down from 20.6% in August. 81.8% of survey respondents indicate they expect the "same" access to capital to fund business, an increase from 79.4% the previous month. No one expects "less" access to capital, unchanged from August.

When asked, 36.4% of the executives reported they expect to hire more employees over the next four months, an increase from 29.4% in August. 60.6% expect no change in headcount over the next four months, down from 64.7% last month. 3.0% expect fewer employees, down from 5.9% of respondents who expected fewer employees in August.

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