Industry Trends

U.S. businesses will spend more than $2 trillion in equipment and software this year, and a significant amount of those assets will be financed. Below are the Top 10 Equipment Acquisition Trends for 2023, according to the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association.

Interest in business jets as a way to avoid traditional airlines has increased, according to Peter Bullen, Executive Vice President Bank Channel and Clean Energy at Key Equipment Finance.

The manufacturing industry has been hit hard with labor shortages, making it imperative that companies find innovative ways to increase productivity with fewer people.

Client experience, skill development, leadership and networking were top activities during the 2019 Operations and Technology Conference of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association.

Investment in equipment and software is projected to expand 1.1% in 2020 while U.S. economic growth slows to 1.7% according to the recently released 2020 Equipment Leasing & Finance U.S. Economic Outlook by the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation.

Although a recession in the next six months appears unlikely, business conditions for the equipment finance industry are also unlikely to improve materially over the rest of the year, particularly for equipment verticals that serve the manufacturing sector, according to the Q4 Equipment Leasing & Finance U.S. Economic Outlook recently published by the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation.

Equipment and software investment growth is likely to slow in 2019 to 3.9%, according to the 2019 Equipment Leasing & Finance U.S. Economic Outlook released earlier this month from the Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation. The forecast is down from a 4.5% expansion predicted in the Q2 update.

In response to changing technology that enables employees to work from anywhere—home, on the road or in their offices—government IT leaders are seeking ways to improve digital workspaces so workers can experience greater flexibility and efficiency.

KeyCorp, parent company of Key Equipment Finance, was recently named one of the world’s most sustainable companies by Corporate Knights, a research firm that produces rankings and financial product ratings based on corporate sustainability performance.

Technology is advancing rapidly, and as new machinery begins to benefit businesses it’s important to consider how upcoming lease accounting changes will influence equipment acquisition strategies, according to a recent Industrial Machinery Digest article by Toni Larson, senior vice president of industrial equipment.