One of ELFA’s most widely used survey-based business intelligence resources, the Monthly Leasing and Finance Index (MLFI-25) is designed to help member organizations achieve competitive advantage by providing leading-edge industry data that informs their strategic decision-making. It’s an indicator of the health of the equipment finance sector and the extent of equipment demand in a given month.

The MLFI-25 is the only near-real-time index that reflects capex, or the volume of commercial equipment financed in the U.S. It is released globally each month at 8 a.m. Eastern time from Washington, D.C., on the day before the U.S. Department of Commerce releases the durable goods report. Analysis has shown a strong correlation in performance between the two data sets, and the MLFI-25 also complements other economic indexes, including the Institute for Supply Management Index, which reports economic activity in the manufacturing sector. Together with the MLFI-25 these reports provide a complete view of the status of productive assets in the U.S. economy: equipment produced, acquired and financed.

The MLFI-25 is a time series that reflects two years of business activity for the 25 companies currently participating in the survey.

View the latest Monthly Leasing and Finance Index

MLFI-25 2024 Release Dates

MLFI-25 Methodology

The MLFI-25 measures monthly commercial equipment lease and loan activity as reported by the same 25 participating ELFA member equipment finance companies representing a cross section of the equipment finance sector, including small ticket, middle-market, large ticket, bank, captive and independent leasing and finance companies. The responses mirror the economic activity of the broader equipment finance sector and current business conditions nationally. The MLFI-25 provides a snapshot of the general direction of five key metrics:

• New business volume
• Accounts receivable
• Average losses (charge-offs)
• Credit approvals
• Change in headcount.

Through this collection of metrics, organizations can benchmark their operations and gauge their performance against industry peers.

Special Cuts

• The Small Ticket MLFI is a subset of the MLFI-25 companies whose total volume is comprised of 80% or more of small-ticket transactions.
• The Financial Institutions MLFI collects data from additional smaller banks not reporting in the MLFI-25.