The US leasing industry slowed in February with business volume down 6% year-on-year and 20% below January’s total.
Data from the Equipment Leasing & Finance Association (ELFA)’s monthly index showed $4.7bn (3.6bn) of new equipment finance was recorded in February which meant cumulative new business volume for the first two months of 2013 was up 5% on the previous year.
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Late payments increased slightly from January but improved year-on-year with receivables over 30 days at 2%; up 0.2 percentage points from the previous month but down from 2.5% in February 2012.
Approvals were also down 1% from January across the 25 leasing firms taking part in the US trade body’s survey.
The business slowdown was reflected in the monthly confidence index of ELFA’s research arm, the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation, which stood at 58 for March compared to 58.7 in February.
William Sutton, president and chief executive of ELFA, said: "It is too early to tell whether February’s decline in new business volume signals a longer-term trend spurred by economic uncertainty, sequestration and unresolved fiscal matters, or is a one-time development that needs to be closely monitored."
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