Tips for Navigating the Current Equipment Financing Environment

Have you priced out new equipment lately? Talk about sticker shock. Equipment prices jumped during the pandemic — sometimes 30% to 40% — and remain high. Interest rates climbed also. Loan rates previously at 5% increased to as much as 9.75% in 2023, says Jim Thomas, owner of Key Commercial Corporation, a St. Louis, Missouri-based commercial equipment finance and leasing organization that serves mom-and-pop businesses with five trucks or fewer.When interest rates are high, borrowing money becomes more expensive, and businesses find it more difficult to obtain financing. Although the future of interest rates remains uncertain, the Federal Reserve forecasted three