Foundation Launches Industry Confidence Index
Posted 05/06/09
This May, the Foundation will launch the first-ever Monthly Confidence Index of the Equipment Finance Industry (MCI-EFI). Each month, 50 industry leaders will respond to the monthly, 5-minute survey, which will be the basis of the index. Responses from the same pool of participants each month will help establish the index as a consistent barometer of the industry’s confidence in its sector and the economy.
In addition to providing the industry with benchmarking data, the index is designed to provide its external publics – from the media to analysts, from research firms to Wall Street -- with a greater understanding of the equipment finance sector and its dynamics. The MCI-EFI results are expected to provide a complementary data point to the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s Monthly Leasing and Finance Index (MLFI-25).The survey questions, which will remain the same each month, will cover such topics as general business conditions and timing for improvements; anticipated demand for leases and loans; expected access to capital; hiring projections; equipment acquisition trends of customers; and expected increases or decreases in business development investment. The survey also will include one open-ended question, which will change each month.
The index, consisting of aggregated information, could be released in tandem with the ELFA’s MLFI-25, but will be posted on the Foundation website and be included in Foundation Forecast newsletter.
Additionally, a chart, which will be updated each month based on new MCI-EFI data, will be continuously displayed on the Foundation’s website helping compare the Foundation’s index data against general economic data.
Watch for more information on the MCI-EFI in future issues of Foundation Forecasts, the Foundation Web site and other communiqués.
Sites of Reference:
http://www.leasefoundation.org
