The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation‘s October 2011 Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry (MCI-EFI), released Oct. 21, shows that confidence in the equipment finance market is 50.7, up from the September index of 47.6, indicating some respite from the concerns about the global economic situation, according to the Foundation.

Designed to collect leadership data, the index reports a qualitative assessment of both the prevailing business conditions and expectations for the future as reported by key executives from the $521 billion equipment finance sector, the Foundation says.

When asked about the outlook for the future, survey respondent Valerie Hayes Jester, President of Brandywine Capital Associates, Inc., said, “The equipment finance industry has weathered and will continue to weather the storms of this economy and all its uncertainty. Access to capital is strong, but demand continues to be weak for small business customers. I do not see that dynamic changing in the coming year to 18 months,” the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation reported in its press release announcing the results.

The October 2011 survey results from the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation follow:

The overall MCI-EFI is 50.7, an increase from the September index of 47.6.

• When asked to assess their business conditions over the next four months, 9.8% of executives responding said they believe business conditions will improve over the next four months, up from 4.9% in September. 80.5% of respondents believe business conditions will remain the same over the next four months, an increase from 61.0% in September. 9.8% of executives believe business conditions will worsen, a decrease from 34.1% in September.

• 17.1% of survey respondents believe demand for leases  and loans to fund capital expenditures (capex) will increase over the next  four months, an increase from 12.2% in September. 68.3% believe  demand will “remain the same” during the same four-month time period,  unchanged from the previous month. 14.6% believe demand will  decline, down from 19.5% who believed so in September.

• 12.2% of executives expect more access to capital to  fund equipment acquisitions over the next four months, down from 15.0% in  September. 87.8% of survey respondents indicate they expect the  “same” access to capital to fund business, an increase from 82.5% the  previous month. No survey respondents expect “less” access to  capital, a decrease from 2.5% who expected less access to capital in  September.

• When asked, 14.6% of the executives reported they  expect to hire more employees over the next four months, down from 17.5%  in September. 78% expect no change in headcount over the next four  months, an increase from 72.5% last month, while 7.3% expect fewer  employees, a decrease from 10.0% in September.