U.S. companies boosted equipment financing 13% in July: ELFA

Companies in the United States increased their borrowing for equipment investments by 13% in July from a year earlier, according to data from the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association said.

Overall, confidence in the equipment finance market is 58.4, an increase from the July index of 50.7, and the highest level since February 2022, as measured by the Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry.

New loans, leases and lines of credit rose 11% in July from $10 billion a month earlier.

The prospect that the Federal Reserve will reduce borrowing costs to help stimulate commercial activity is a significant reason for optimism.

“Our overall confidence in the near-term future of the industry is high. We’re expecting economic conditions for businesses to improve over the next six months as interest rates decline and investment in U.S. manufacturing continues to grow, which in turn will lead to rising demand for funding to complete capex projects,” Jeff Elliott, president of Huntington Equipment Finance, said in a statement.

About 38% of survey respondents said U.S. economic conditions will get “better” over the next six months, up from 19.2% in July, according to the survey.