Brianna Wilson,
Managing Editor,
Monitor

Monitor’s new ranking report focuses on new business volume in various equipment types. This report is designed to highlight equipment finance companies’ performance in these asset classes, analyze year-over-year market fluctuations and evaluate economic trends.

AGRICULTURE
Based on data from 128 reporting companies (excluding seven that did not disclose volume by equipment type information for 2023), agriculture was the leading equipment type for Monitor 100 and 101+ companies, though it is also the most weighted of the bunch. The top three companies in this ranking (John Deere Financial, CNH Capital and DLL) reported a collective $36.5 billion in agriculture-related
new business volume in 2023. The top four companies share 96.3% of the total volume in this asset class.

TRUCKS & TRAILERS
Trucks and trailers-related new business volume increased by 27.7% year over year, from nearly $29.2 billion in 2022 to nearly $37.3 billion in 2023. In 2023, eight companies surpassed the $1 billion mark, bumping it to No. 2 of the top asset classes, overtaking construction. The top five companies in 2023 were Volvo, Bank of America, BMO, Wells Fargo and MassMutual. Huntington, Flagstar Financial and Fleet Advantage round out the eight companies reporting over $1 billion in trucks and trailers-related new business volume. Collectively, the top eight companies reported $23.4 billion, 62.6% of the total.

CONSTRUCTION
Construction fell to No. 3 in the top asset classes, though the market still grew year over year, from nearly $30 billion in 2022 to almost $33.4 billion in 2023, a 11.3% increase. Caterpillar, John Deere Financial, Wells Fargo, Volvo and DLL were the top five companies. CNH Capital ranked No. 6, also reported more than $1 billion in construction-related new business volume. Collectively, the top six companies reported nearly $24 billion in construction-related new business volume in 2023, representing 71.9% of the total.

IT & RELATED TECHNOLOGY SERVICES
IT and related technology services experienced a major year-over-year increase, more than doubling from $11.4 billion (5.2%) in 2022 to $23.5 billion (11.2%) in 2023, a dramatic 106.3% increase. This is largely due to Dell Financial and Cisco Systems Capital rejoining the Monitor 100 this year, respectively reporting $8.4 billion and nearly $3 billion in IT-related new business volume. With Bank of America, which ranked No. 2 in the category, the top three companies reported $14.6 billion in volume for this equipment type, 63.9% of the total.

INDUSTRIAL & MANUFACTURING
Industrial and manufacturing was the only top five equipment type to see a year-over-year decline, from $ 9.1 billion in 2022 to $7.8 billion in 2023, a nearly $1.3 billion (or 14.2%) decrease. Bank of America, M&T Equipment Finance, Stonebriar, First American Equipment Finance and BMO led the ranking. Together, the top five companies represent 46.1% of total related new business volume.

SECTOR EXPECTATIONS & PERFORMANCE
In the 33rd release of its annual “What’s Hot / What’s Not” report, the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) predicted construction, machine tools and, in a tie, medical and trucks and trailers would be the leading equipment sectors in 2023. Of the equipment types included in the ELFA’s report, data from the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) shows information processing equipment topped the list in 2023 with $1.87 trillion in investment, followed by transportation equipment ($1.28 trillion) and industrial equipment ($1.25 trillion).

Examining BEA’s recorded 2023 investment in Monitor’s top five asset classes, investment in industrial equipment was $1.25 trillion, investment in trucks and trailers (including buses) reached nearly $910 billion, and nearly $605 billion was invested in computers and peripheral equipment, $284.5 billion in construction equipment and $147.2 billion in agricultural machinery.

Apart from automobiles, BEA reported light trucks (including utility vehicles) as the fastest growing area of year-over-year investment growth (57%) with an annual increase of $227.2 billion. Trucks, buses and trailers, which include the light truck category, grew by 36.9% year over year in 2023. Other expanding equipment types in 2023 included aircraft (up 36.1%), construction machinery (up 26.6%), railroad equipment (up 15.6%), mining and oilfield machinery (up 11.7%), general industrial, including materials handling (up 6.4%) and engines and turbines (up 5.9%).

In 2023, the BEA reported the largest year-over-year declines in investment in agricultural machinery (-14.7%), office and accounting equipment (-12.4%), computers and peripheral equipment (-6.7%), furniture and fixtures (-6.6%) and communication equipment (-4.1%).

2024 PERFORMANCE
Flash-forward to 2024, ELFA’s survey respondents have hardly shifted their views, with the top three equipment types once again being construction, machine tools and medical — though trucks and trailers saw a severe drop to No. 12, tied with telecommunications, where it was tied with medical for the 2023 prediction.

According to BEA data for the first half of 2024, trucks and trailers (including buses) received the highest level of investment ($482.9 billion) followed by computers and peripheral equipment ($344.2 billion), communication equipment ($272.9 billion), medical equipment ($252.7 billion) and general industry equipment (including materials handling) at $250.9 billion.

Comparing data from the first half of 2024 to the same period in 2023, with the exception of automobiles, the fastest growing equipment types on a year-over-year basis include railroad equipment (up $6.4 billion, or 25.8%); computers and peripheral equipment (up $44.7 billion, or 14.9%); trucks, buses and truck trailers (up $42.5 billion, or 9.6%); agricultural machinery (up $6 billion, or 8.4%); special industry machinery (up $6.6 billion, or 6.2%); general industrial equipment, including materials handling (up $13.8 billion, or 5.8%); and electrical equipment (up $1.1 billion, or 5.5%).

Declining equipment types, comparing investment activity in the first half of 2024 to the same period in 2023, include office and accounting equipment (down $2.3 billion, or 19.5%), ships and boats (down $2.8 billion, or 17.6%), engines and turbines (down $1.7 billion, or 8.6%), aircraft (down $6.9 billion, or 6.2%); mining and oilfield machinery (down $4 billion, or 5.9%); and communication equipment (down $9.1 billion, or 3.3%). •

Brianna Wilson is managing editor of Monitor.

Rita E. Garwood, editor in chief, contributed to this article.