Acquiring equipment is essential in driving the supply chains across all U.S. manufacturing and service sectors, which is why it may be important, and interesting, to review recent survey results that indicate economic improvement and favorable financing conditions will drive capital spending this year.
The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) which represents the $827 billion equipment finance sector, revealed its Top 10 Equipment Acquisition Trends for 2014 explaining that businesses will need to consider a dynamic environment of economic growth, wider credit availability, and favorable interest rates in their equipment acquisition decision-making.
Top 10 Equipment Acquisition Trends for 2014:
1. Investment in equipment and software will reach an all-time high in 2014.
2. Equipment replacement demand will continue to drive investment.
3. Demand for equipment financing will increase due to greater stability in the federal budgeting process.
4. The global economy will play a part in the “big picture” impacting businesses’ equipment acquisition decisions.
5. Rebounding of some industry sectors will spur varied equipment types.
6. A majority of U.S. businesses will use some form of financing for equipment acquisition.
7. Credit market conditions will remain favorable for long-term equipment financing.
8. A low short-term interest rate environment will continue, while long-term rates will rise but remain below the historical average.
9. Technology innovations will continue to improve the customer experience.
10. Long-awaited changes to the lease accounting standard will continue to be debated.
