According to the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s Monthly Leasing and Finance Index (MLFI-25), overall new business volume for June was $9.1 billion, down 7% year-over-year from new business volume in June 2017. Volume was up 18% month-to-month from $7.7 billion in May. Year to date, cumulative new business volume was up 4% compared to 2017.

“Most sectors of the equipment finance industry are performing well, as the economy’s underlying fundamentals continue to hold up in the face of slowly rising interest rates,” Ralph Petta, president and CEO of the ELFA, said. “A strong corporate earnings season and continued strength in the labor markets create a positive environment for capex spending. Hopefully, potential disruption in the global supply chain created by frictions with our trading partners does not upend this positive scenario.”

Receivables over 30 days were 1.40%, down from 1.60% the previous month and up from 1.30% the same period in 2017. Charge-offs were 0.33%, up from 0.31% the previous month, and down from 0.38% in the year-earlier period.

Credit approvals totaled 75.8% in June, down from 76.8% in May. Total headcount for equipment finance companies was down 0.2% year over year. During 2017, headcount was elevated due to acquisition activity at an MLFI reporting company.

Separately, the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation’s Monthly Confidence Index (MCI-EFI) in July is 62.8, easing from the June index of 66.2.

“The overall equipment financing industry activity has been strong during the first six months of 2018,” Kris Snow, president of Cisco Capital, said. “In the technology sector, customers continue to shift their buying behaviors toward pay-per-use models, cloud-based models and bundled solutions that may include hardware, software and services. As a result, we expect captive finance companies to grow in importance as a strategic underpinning for business and economic growth throughout the remainder of the year.”