The recent slowdown in economic activity indicates that equipment investment continued to lose momentum in the second quarter, but forward-looking indicators suggest growth will stabilize and potentially improve in the second half of the year, according to the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation’s quarterly update to its 2012 Equipment Leasing & Finance U.S. Economic Outlook released Tuesday, July 10.
The report, which is focused on the $628 billion equipment leasing and finance industry, forecasts equipment investment and capital spending in the United States and evaluates the effects of various related and exogenous factors in play currently and into the foreseeable future. According to ELFA’s Q3 Outlook, the projected growth in equipment and software investment for 2012 has slowed to 6.4 percent, down from the previous projection of 6.9 percent.
“The steady overall growth projected for 2012 in the Q3 Outlook aligns with the steady year-over-year growth in new business volume seen in the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s Monthly Leasing and Finance Index,” said William Sutton, president of the foundation and president and chief executive officer of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association.
The Outlook report and the Foundation’s Monthly Confidence Index both indicate that concerns over the European debt crisis, U.S. unemployment and regulatory and political uncertainty continue to hamper growth, Sutton said. “However, we are cautiously optimistic that growth will pick up in the second half of 2012 and into 2013 due to improvements in the manufacturing and housing sectors and lower oil prices,” he said.
