Business volume in the US equipment finance sector was up by 45% in March compared to February but flat year-on-year with $6.8bn (5.2bn) in new lending written.
Year-to-date, cumulative new business volume was up 3% compared to the first three months of 2012, according the Equipment Leasing & Finance Association (ELFA).
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William Sutton, ELFA president and chief executive, said: "After a sluggish February, March business activity returned to a degree of normalcy that hopefully is sustainable into the second half of the year."
Data from ELFA’s monthly index also showed late payments were unchanged from Febraury at 2.0%, down from 2.8% last year.Write-offs were down slightly, returning to the all-time low of 0.3% from 0.4% in February.
Credit approvals were up by a percentage point from February to 78.4%.
Separately, the confidence index of the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation, ELFA’s research arm, was 54.0 for April, a decrease from the March index of 58.0. Which ELFA said reflected industry participants’ "continuing concerns over the economy and the impact of federal policies on capital expenditures."
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By GlobalDataNonetheless, Sutton added: "The continued low interest rate environment promoted by the Fed together with relatively benign fundamentals in the broader economy bode well for businesses planning to expand and grow in the coming months and invest in capital equipment."
