Oct 25 (Reuters) - U.S. companies borrowed 11% more in September to finance their equipment investments compared with a year earlier, industry body Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) said on Tuesday, while raising doubts over the sustainability of this growth amid slowdown fears.
The companies signed up for $10.2 billion in new loans, leases and lines of credit last month, compared with $9.2 billion a year earlier, according to ELFA.
ELFA, which reports economic activity for the nearly $1-trillion equipment finance sector, said credit approvals totaled 77.3%, up from 75.2% in August.
The Washington-based body's leasing and finance index measures the volume of commercial equipment financed in the United States.
The Equipment Leasing & Finance Foundation, ELFA's non-profit affiliate, said its confidence index in October stood at 45%, compared with 48.7% in September.