The market for equipment leasing is still looking strong, according to figures just released by an industry trade group.

The Equipment Leasing and Finance Foundation’s February confidence index is 63.3 on a 100-point scale. The numbers are a slight decline from last month’s figures, but still the second-highest in two years, officials said.

“I am optimistic that there is increasing demand for equipment and therefore financing to acquire that equipment,” said Valerie Hayes Jester, president of Brandywine Capital Associates and one of the people who responded to the survey. “The brutal winter experienced by a significant portion of this country has slowed down many projects that would have been in progress by now.  I am hoping that the last third of this quarter will show the signs we had experienced at year end, as demand increased.” 

The index is compiled by surveying executives in the $827 billion equipment financing industry.