April new business volume up 7 percent Year-over-Year, relatively unchanged month-to-month, up nearly 6 percent Year-to-Date

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 $900 billion equipment finance sector, showed their overall new business volume for April was $10.5 billion, up 7 percent year-over-year from new business volume in April 2021. Volume was relatively unchanged from $10.6 billion in March. Year-to-date, cumulative new business volume was up nearly 6 percent compared to 2021.

Receivables over 30 days were 2.1 percent, up from 1.5 percent the previous month and up from 1.8 percent in the same period in 2021. Charge-offs were 0.05 percent, down from 0.10 percent the previous month and down from 0.30 percent in the year-earlier period.

Credit approvals totaled 77.4 percent, down from 78.3 percent in March. The total headcount for equipment finance companies was down 1.0 percent year-over-year.

Separately, the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation’s Monthly Confidence Index (MCI-EFI) in May is 49.6, a decrease from 56.1 in April.

ELFA President and CEO Ralph Petta said, “New business volume for a subset of the ELFA membership shows stable growth in April amidst a somewhat slowing economy and rising interest rate environment. Anecdotal information from a number of ELFA member organizations indicates that equipment deliveries continue to be a problem as supply chain disruptions continue. Soaring energy prices and inflation are headwinds confronting the industry as we move into the summer months.”

Eric Bunnell, CLFP, President, Arvest Equipment Finance, said, “The recent results from the MLFI-25 mirror what we are seeing every day. Volume continues to be steady even with rising interest rates. The portfolio is performing well, with below-average delinquency rates, but we continue to monitor this closely. We continue to be optimistic for the rest of 2022, especially if the supply chain continues to improve.”