United Airlines breaks spending logjam

CHICAGO, June 5 (UPI) -- United Airlines' indication it will spend $10 billion on new aircraft could signify a turn in U.S. corporate spending, an industrial market analyst said.

"It's very tentative, but it sounds like businesses are starting to come back and think about investing in plants and equipment," Kenneth Bentsen Jr., president of the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association, told The Washington Post Friday.

The Commerce Department said first quarter spending for commercial facilities had dropped at an annual rate of 36.8 percent. The first quarter decline in corporate investments in transportation equipment was 67 percent, compared to the first three months of 2007, the department said.

But "now there are a few inquiries and indications of demand and applications for borrowing," Bentsen said.

Richard Aboulafia at Teal Group, a consulting company, said United Airline's plan to buy 150 new planes was "a bet that they'll be able to take advantage of growing air traffic in the future and (they) strike now while they can get a good price."