The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation (the Foundation) releases the March 2017 Monthly Confidence Index for the Equipment Finance Industry (MCI-EFI) today. Designed to collect leadership data, the index reports a qualitative assessment of both the prevailing business conditions and expectations for the future as reported by key executives from the $1 trillion equipment finance sector. Overall, confidence in the equipment finance market is 71.1, easing from the February index of 72.2 but remaining among the highest levels of the last two years.
美国设备融资租赁基金会（简称基金会）公布了2017年3月设备融资行业的信心指数。为该指数通过收集该行业领导层数据，对拥有1万亿美元行业资本的设备融资业各企业主要高管给出的普遍经营状况和未来期望做了定性评估。总体而言，本月的设备融资租赁市场的信心指数是71.1，低于2月的72.2，但是仍然保持着近两年的最高水平。
When asked about the outlook for the future, MCI-EFI survey respondent Thomas Jaschik, President, BB&T Equipment Finance, said, "The 'Trump Effect' appears to be having a positive impact on the equipment finance market. Customer demand has increased over 2016 levels. A positive outlook on taxes and regulation seems to have been the catalyst for increased capital expenditures. If the promises come to life it could be a banner year for the U.S. economy and the equipment finance industry."
当被问及美国设备融资租赁业未来的前景时，MCI-EFI 的调查对象，BB&T 设备融资的董事长Thomas Jaschik表示：“‘特朗普效应’似乎对设备融资市场产生了积极的影响。客户需求不断增加，已经超过了2016年的需求水平。而且在税收和监管上的宽松前景也会成为增加资本支出的催化剂。如果这一希望变成了现实，那么这一年将是美国经济和设备融资行业旗帜性的一年”。
March 2017 Survey Results:
2017年3月调查结果：
The overall MCI-EFI is 71.1, a decrease from the February index of 72.2.
2017年3月的总体MCI-EFI是71.1，低于2017年2月72.2。
·         When asked to assess their business conditions over the next four months, 70% of executives responding said they believe business conditions will improve over the next four months, an increase from 69.2% in February. 20% of respondents believe business conditions will remain the same over the next four months, a decrease from 26.9% in February. 10% believe business conditions will worsen, an increase from 3.8% the previous month.
·       当被问及如何评估未来四个月的经营状况时，70%的受访主管认为未来四个月里经营状况将得到改善，较2月份的69.2%有所提高。20%的受访者相信未来四个月的经营状况将保持原状，较2月的26.9%有所下滑。10%的受访者认为未来四个月的经营状况竟会变得更糟，比上个月的3.8%有所提高。
·         70% of survey respondents believe demand for leases and loans to fund capital expenditures (capex) will increase over the next four months, an increase from 53.8% in February. 20% believe demand will "remain the same" during the same four-month time period, down from 42.3% the previous month. 10% believe demand will decline, up from 3.8% who believed so in February.
·       70%的受访者认为未来四个月用于租赁和贷款的资金资本支出的需求将会上涨，高于2月的53.8%。20%的受访者认为四个月内的需求将保持原状，低于上个月的42.3%。10%的受访者认为四个月内需求会下降，高于2月的6.5%。
·         16.7% of the respondents expect more access to capital to fund equipment acquisitions over the next four months, an increase from 15.4% who expected more in February. 80% of executives indicate they expect the "same" access to capital to fund business, a decrease from 84.6% the previous month. 3.3% expect "less" access to capital, an increase from none who expected less last month.
·       16.7%的受访者期望未来四个月获得更多的设备采购资金，高于2月期望的15.4%。80%的高管表示期望获得的设备采购资金不变，低于上月的84.6%。3.3%的高管期望减少获得的资金，高于上月的领比率。
·         When asked, 43.3% of the executives report they expect to hire more employees over the next four months, an increase from 42.3% in February. 53.3% expect no change in headcount over the next four months, an increase from 50% last month. 3.3% expect to hire fewer employees, down from 7.7% in February.
·       采访时，43.3%的高管预测未来四个月会雇用更多的员工，高于2月的42.3%。53.3%预测未来四个月员工数量不会有变化，高于上月的50%。3.3%的高管计划裁员，低于2月的7.7%。
·         None of the leadership evaluate the current U.S. economy as "excellent," unchanged from last month. 100% of the leadership evaluate the current U.S. economy as "fair," and none evaluate it as "poor," both also unchanged from February.
·       和上个月一样，领导层没人认为当下美国经济形式“极好”。100%的企业领导把当下的美国经济评估为“一般”，没有人评估为“差”，两者和2月相比都没有变化。
·         60% of the survey respondents believe that U.S. economic conditions will get "better" over the next six months, a decrease from 73.1% in February. 36.7% of survey respondents indicate they believe the U.S. economy will "stay the same" over the next six months, an increase from 26.9% the previous month. 3.3% believe economic conditions in the U.S. will worsen over the next six months, up from none who believed so last month.
·       60%的受访者相信未来6个月美国经济状况会变得“更好”，低于2月的73.1%。36.7%的受访者表示他们认为未来6个月美国的经济状况将“保持不变”，高于上个月的26.9%。3.3%认为未来6个月美国经济状况会更糟，相比上个月没人这样认为有所提高。
·       In March, 50% of respondents indicate they believe their company will increase spending on business development activities during the next six months, a decrease from 65.4% in February. 50% believe there will be "no change" in business development spending, an increase from 34.6% the previous month. None believe there will be a decrease in spending, unchanged from last month.
·       3月，50%的受访者预计未来6个月公司会增加在业务拓展活动上的支出，低于2月的65.4%。50%认为，他们将不改变在业务拓展上的支出，高于上月的34.6%。和上个月一样吗，没有企业将减少这项支出。