EL&F magazine article

Market Data Insights

ELFA Industry Information

2018 Survey of Equipment Finance Activity helps companies make data-driven decisions


If slow but steady growth of the U.S. economy and the equipment finance industry seemed fortuitous in 2016, both upward trends gained traction in 2017 as a new President took office and business and consumer confidence translated into increased spending. Real GDP grew 2.3% in 2017 and, according to ELFA’s 2018 Survey of Equipment Finance Activity (SEFA), new business volume grew at three times that rate, rising 6.9%. According to the 2018 Small-Ticket Survey of Equipment Finance Activity, new business volume in the small-ticket space by 3.6%.

Get the Answers You Need
SEFAcover Drill Down into the Full Report—This 300-page report offers comprehensive performance metrics for 114 equipment finance companies.
SEFA ScreenshotGet an Overview with the Interactive Dashboard—This online platform provides highlights from a decade of industry benchmark data.

Access both tools at www.elfaonline.org/SEFA.

The SEFA report covers key statistical, financial and operations information for the $1 trillion equipment finance industry, based on a survey of 114 ELFA member companies. The 300-page report, which is produced by PricewaterhouseCoopers, offers comprehensive performance metrics—including volume size, organization type, market segment and business model—as well as productivity measures—including residual experience, balance sheet data, financial ratios, profitability data and more. Key findings for 2017 as reported in the 2018 SEFA include:   
 
  • New business volume: Captives and independents saw a 10% increase in new business volume while banks saw a 5% increase. By market segment, new business volume grew 9.7% in the middle ticket segment, 4.3% in small ticket and 2.8% in large ticket.

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

  • Delinquencies increased slightly, with 2.0% of receivables over 31 days past due compared to 1.8% the previous year. While delinquencies are still very low, they have been on the rise since 2013 when they totaled 1.2%.

  • Charge-offs also increased slightly but remained at 0.33% of average receivables; any level lower than 1% is considered very low.

  • Credit approvals decreased slightly while the percentage of approved applications being booked and funded increased.

  • Employment levels grew moderately by 3.4%.
Download Your Copy
Participation in the SEFA is a benefit of membership in ELFA. Member-respondents receive a complimentary copy of the Survey Report, as well as confidential Individual Company Data Reports. Others may purchase the SEFA; members save 46%. Learn more at www.elfaonline.org/SEFA.

Leverage the Survey of Equipment Finance Activity
SEFAinfo Here are some tips—provided by ELFA members—for how your business can use the 2018 Survey of Equipment Finance Activity to get ahead. Download our new infographic (pictured above) with pointers at www.elfaonline.org/SEFA and share it with your colleagues.

  • See how your company stacks up against the competition. Compare your portfolio performance—yield spread, ROE, delinquencies, charge-offs and more—to what other equipment finance companies are experiencing.

  • Validate strategic business moves. Whether you are introducing a new product or looking to make the case for or against entering a particular product line, the SEFA data can help justify your next steps.

  • Explore new verticals. Get a sense of the size of various markets, number of competitors and growth rate.

  • Determine how to best allocate your staffing resources in a particular geographic region. See how other companies are placing staff.

  • Compare operational expenses. Discover how your costs—such as sales, credit, booking and other expenses—compare to others in the industry.

  • Analyze headcount reports. Gauge where to invest your human resources: sales, information systems, compliance, marketing and more.

  • Add credibility to your business plan. Shore it up with statistics from the SEFA.

  • Validate assumptions and conclusions. Review the data you need—such as productivity measures, residual experience, balance sheet data, financial ratios, profitability data and more—to get the real picture.

  • Educate your partners about the equipment finance sector. Share highlights from the SEFA, the definitive source of industry information.

  • Get more data! Become a SEFA respondent and receive an Individual Company Data Sheet comparing your data to other respondents.
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EL&F magazine article
DATA, BENCHMARKING & FORECASTING
Featured Story
2018