Equipment finance activity new business volume grew in 2015

New business volume grew 12.4 percent in the equipment finance industry in 2015 compared with 2014's volume, according to the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA).

Railroad equipment represented 3.5 percent of equipment financing new business volume reported by ELFA member companies, which was unchanged from 2014, according to an ELFA press release.

As an end user of equipment finance, the railroad industry represented 0.4 percent of new business volume in 2015 as reported by ELFA member companies, down from 0.7 percent from 2014, the association reported.

The 12.4 percent rise in new business volume marked the sixth consecutive year that businesses increased their spending on capital equipment, according to an ELFA press release.

ELFA's Survey of Equipment Finance Activity report covers key statistical, financial and operations information for the $1 trillion equipment finance industry based on a survey of 116 ELFA members.

"The equipment finance industry saw positive growth overall in 2015, as reported in the 2016 Survey of Equipment Finance Activity," said ELFA President and Chief Executive Officer Ralph Petta. "More recent data collected in the first two quarters of 2016 suggests the equipment finance industry is entering a period of slower growth as business confidence and global markets appear increasingly volatile."

From an asset perspective, the top five most financed equipment types were were transportation, IT and related technology services, construction, agricultural and medical equipment. The top five end-user industries representing the largest share of new business volume were services, industrial and manufacturing, agriculture, transportation and wholesale/retail.