The new business volume in US leasing for December was $11.5bn (£7.3bn), up 6% from the $10.8bn recorded in the same period in 2011, according to The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s (ELFA) Monthly Leasing and Finance Index (MLFI-25).

This meant that cumulative new business volume for 2012 was 14% over 2011.

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The Index, which reports economic activity from 25 companies representing a cross section of the US’s $725bn equipment finance sector, also showed December’s figures were 80% higher than those of November, in what ELFA described as a "typical end of year spike."

Late payments decreased to their lowest level in two years, at 1.6%, down from 2% in November and 2.1% from the same period in 2011, while write-offs were down 14.3%, at 0.6%

Credit approvals were 78.5% in December, up from 77% in November, while 72% of participating organisations reported submitting more transactions for approval during December, compared to 46% the previous month.

William Sutton, chief executive officer and president of ELFA, commented "While traditional end-of-year business increased considerably from the prior month, and is up moderately compared to the similar period last year, customers — and potential customers — of ELFA members express varying degrees of caution when considering equipment acquisitions going forward.

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"Pressure on the U.S. economy — notably the still-unresolved debt-ceiling and mandatory spending reduction debate between Congress and the White House — continues to overhang the U.S. economy as we move into the first quarter of 2013."

The news follows ELFA’s recent report on increasing business confidence among US finance providers.