Business owners appear to be scaling back a little on their equipment purchases – a possible sign of sluggish economic growth for the first half of 2013.
The Equipment Leasing and Finance Association’s Monthly Leasing and Finance Index found overall new business volume in the U.S. was $4.7 billion in February, down 6 percent from $5 billion in February 2012.
“Recent internal and external economic indicators and analyses point to a moderately sluggish beginning to the year, to be followed by a pick-up in overall economic activity in the second half of the year. February’s somewhat disappointing data could very well provide concrete evidence of this forecast,” William Sutton, the association’s president and CEO, said in a news release.
Separately, the association’s sister group, the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation, saw its Monthly Confidence Index for the industry decrease to 58.0 in March, from 58.7 in February.
It all points to slowdown of the economic recovery – albeit one that is hopefully temporary.
The monthly Mid-America Business Conditions Index, a leading economic indicator for a nine-state region including Minnesota, also dipped slightly for February. The Creighton University index is also suggesting sluggish growth for the Minnesota and surrounding states in the next three to six months.
