White Clarke Group, in association with the World Leasing Yearbook, released an annual survey to provide an assessment of the national leasing markets in the U.S., focusing on the period up to mid-2019.

Composed of research conducted on behalf of the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation by Keybridge Research, the survey offers economic and industry insights, including the size of the equipment finance market before the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. The report was written by Ralph Petta, president and CEO of the Equipment Leasing & Finance Association and president of the ELFF.

The size of the equipment finance industry at the end of 2018 was around $900 billion, with 80% of companies using at least one form of finance when acquiring equipment or software. The research reflects a robust industry well-placed to manage the economic challenges ahead.

The ELFF’s Q2/20 Equipment Leasing & Finance Industry Snapshot revealed that the U.S. economy could suffer a historically deep contraction of -30 to -40% in Q2/20, in part due to more than 90% of the population having been affected by stay-at-home orders.

Furthermore, the Snapshot predicts a plunge in equipment and software investment in the first half of 2020, although a return to growth is possible should the public health crisis subside in the second half of the year.