Washington, DC (Jan. 24, 2024) — The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s (ELFA) Monthly Leasing and Finance Index (MLFI-25), which reports economic activity from 25 companies representing a cross-section of the $1 trillion equipment finance sector, showed their overall new business volume for December was $12.5 billion, up 2% year-over-year from new business volume in December 2022. Volume was up 51% from $8.3 billion in November in a typical end-of-quarter, end-of-year spike. Cumulative new business volume for 2023 was up 3.9% compared to 2022.
Receivables over 30 days were 2.3%, up from 2.0% the previous month and up from 1.8% in the same period in 2022. Charge-offs were 0.4%, unchanged from the previous month and up from 0.3% in the year-earlier period.
Credit approvals totaled 75%, down from 76% in November. Total headcount for equipment finance companies was up 1.2% year-over-year.
Separately, the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation’s Monthly Confidence Index (MCI-EFI) in January is 48.6, an increase from the December index of 42.5.
ELFA President and CEO Leigh Lytle said, “The MLFI closes out 2023 with a strong finish despite ongoing concerns of a recession and the higher interest rate environment throughout the year. Positive year-end new business volume shows that U.S. businesses continue to rely on equipment financing to operate and grow. Delinquencies and losses, while historically elevated, have remained within consistent ranges since last summer. These metrics, combined with improved industry confidence, bode well for an optimistic start to 2024.”
Neal Garnett, chief commercial officer and member of the executive board, DLL, said, “DLL finished the year strong with a good December as new applications were up, both in dollar amount and overall count. This contributed to DLL closing out 2023 above plan. Based on the positive closing of 2023, I believe the industry can move into 2024 with confidence. Activity across industry verticals is robust with expectations that tech device sales and, by extension, leasing volumes will recover in 2024. I also anticipate a focus on retail finance programs from hard asset manufacturers, pulling inventory from their dealer channels.”
About ELFA’s MLFI-25
The MLFI-25 is the only near-real-time index that reflects capex, or the volume of commercial equipment financed in the U.S. The MLFI-25 is released globally at 8 a.m. Eastern time from Washington, D.C., each month on the day before the U.S. Department of Commerce releases the durable goods report. The MLFI-25 is a financial indicator that complements the durable goods report and other economic indexes, including the Institute for Supply Management Index, which reports economic activity in the manufacturing sector. Together with the MLFI-25 these reports provide a complete view of the status of productive assets in the U.S. economy: equipment produced, acquired and financed.
The MLFI-25 is a time series that reflects two years of business activity for the 25 companies currently participating in the survey. The latest MLFI-25, including methodology and participants, is available here.
The MLFI-25 is part of the Knowledge Hub, the source for business intelligence in the equipment finance industry. Visit the hub here.
MLFI-25 Methodology
ELFA produces the MLFI-25 survey to help member organizations achieve competitive advantage by providing them with leading-edge research and benchmarking information to support strategic business decision-making.
The MLFI-25 is a barometer of the trends in U.S. capital equipment investment. Five components are included in the survey: new business volume (originations), aging of receivables, charge-offs, credit approval ratios, (approved vs. submitted) and headcount for the equipment finance business.
The MLFI-25 measures monthly commercial equipment lease and loan activity as reported by participating ELFA member equipment finance companies representing a cross-section of the equipment finance sector, including small-ticket, middle-market, large-ticket, bank, captive and independent leasing and finance companies. Based on hard survey data, the responses mirror the economic activity of the broader equipment finance sector and current business conditions nationally.
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About ELFA
The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) is the trade association that represents companies in the $1 trillion equipment finance sector, which includes financial services companies and manufacturers engaged in financing capital goods. ELFA members are the driving force behind the growth in the commercial equipment finance market and contribute to capital formation in the U.S. and abroad. Its 580 members include independent and captive leasing and finance companies, banks, financial services corporations, broker/packagers and investment banks, as well as manufacturers and service providers. ELFA has been equipping business for success for more than 60 years.
