The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation released the October 2022 Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry (MCI-EFI). Overall, confidence in the equipment finance market is 45, a decrease from the Sept. index of 48.7.

“I am optimistic about our industry and our customers finding solutions to manage challenging economic conditions,” David Normandin, CLFP, president and CEO, Wintrust Specialty Finance, said. “As the rate of change increases, I think that our industry is well positioned to adapt and continue to find ways to win.”

When asked to assess their business conditions over the next four months, none of the executives responding said they believe business conditions will improve over the next four months, a decrease from 3.6% in September. 62.5% believe business conditions will remain the same over the next four months, down from 75% the previous month. 37.5% believe business conditions will worsen, an increase from 21.4% in September.

According to the survey, 8.3% of respondents believe demand for leases and loans to fund capital expenditures (capex) will increase over the next four months, a decrease from 10.7% in September. 66.7% believe demand will “remain the same” during the same four-month time period, a decrease from 71.4% the previous month. 25% believe demand will decline, up from 17.9% in September.

According to the survey, 4.2% of respondents expect more access to capital to fund equipment acquisitions over the next four months, down from 14.3% in September. 87.5% of executives indicate they expect the “same” access to capital to fund business, an increase from 71.4% last month. 8.3% expect “less” access to capital, down from 14.3% the previous month.

When asked, 29.2% of the executives report they expect to hire more employees over the next four months, up from 28.6% in September. 66.7% expect no change in headcount over the next four months, an increase from 64.3% last month. 4.2% expect to hire fewer employees, down from 7.1% in September.

According to the survey, 8.3% of the leadership evaluate the current U.S. economy as “excellent,” an increase from 7.1% the previous month. 66.7% of the leadership evaluate the current U.S. economy as “fair,” down from 71.4% in September. 25% evaluate it as “poor,” an increase from 21.4% last month.

None of the survey respondents believe that U.S. economic conditions will get “better” over the next six months, a decrease from 7.1% in September. 41.7% indicate they believe the U.S. economy will “stay the same” over the next six months, an increase from 39.3% last month. 58.3% believe economic conditions in the U.S. will worsen over the next six months, an increase from 53.6% the previous month.

“Until the mid-term elections are over, the economy is not likely to see much change,” James D. Jenks, CEO, Global Finance and Leasing Services, said.