Firms signed up for $7.9 billion in new loans, leases and lines of credit last month, up from $7.3 billion a year earlier. Borrowings, however, are down 26% from October.
"Supply chain disruptions continue to plague an otherwise strong economy, creating inflationary pressures that are a concern for many Americans." ELFA's Chief Executive Officer Ralph Petta said in a statement.
"The hope is that the Fed (U.S. Federal Reserve) does not choke off the recovery (of the economy) in its efforts to control further inflation."
ELFA, which reports economic activity for the nearly $1-trillion equipment finance sector, said credit approvals totaled 77.2%, down from 78% in October.
The Washington-based body's leasing and finance index measures the volume of commercial equipment financed in the United States.
The index is based on a survey of 25 members, including Bank of America Corp, CIT Group Inc and financing affiliates or units of Caterpillar Inc, Dell Technologies Inc, Siemens AG, Canon Inc and Volvo AB.
ELFA's non-profit affiliate, the Equipment Leasing and Finance Foundation, reported a monthly confidence of 63.9% in December, down from 64.6% in November in their index. A reading above 50 indicates a positive business outlook.
(Reporting by Nathan Gomes in Bengaluru; editing by Uttaresh.V)
