March 30 (Reuters) - U.S. companies borrowed 14.2% more to finance equipment purchases in February than a year earlier, fueled by a surge in activity among independent providers, the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association said on Monday.
The Washington-based trade association, which tracks economic activity for more than the $1 trillion equipment finance sector, bases its report on a survey of 25 members, including Bank of America (BAC.N), and financing units of Caterpillar (CAT.N), Dell Technologies (DELL.N), Siemens AG (SIEGn.DE), Canon (7751.T), and Volvo AB (VOLVb.ST).
New loans, leases and lines of credit signed up by companies in February were $11 billion on a seasonally adjusted basis, a decline of 4.7% from the prior month.
Small-ticket volume growth, a key indicator of equipment demand and broader economic conditions, grew by $4.4 billion, down 14.7% from January, but was still above its 12-month trailing average of $3.5 billion.
ELFA President and CEO Leigh Lytle said the survey was conducted before the conflict in Iran and the March FOMC meeting, and those could cause more bumps in the first half.
ELFA's monthly confidence index stood at 61 in March, down from 67.6 in February.
Reporting by Megavarshini G. Somasundaram in Bengaluru; Editing by Tasim Zahid
