Confidence in the equipment leasing industry has reached a record high, according to the latest figures from the Equipment Leasing and Finance Foundation.

For March, the index sits at 72.1 on a 100-point scale. The index measures the current and expected business conditions in the $903 billion equipment leasing industry.

Of those surveyed, 50 percent of respondents said they believe business will improve over the next four months, up from 30.3 percent who said they felt that way in February. Half of respondents said they believed business conditions will remain the same over the next four months, down from 63.6 percent in February.  No one who answered the survey said they believed business conditions will get worse. Six percent of respondents said they felt that way the previous month.

“Equipment financing demand is continuing although there are increasing clouds of uncertainty,” said Harry Kaplun, president of Frost Equipment Leasing and Finance. “In particular the full impact of lower oil prices has not been seen.  This favorable event for consumers has a mixed impact commercially.”