Borrowings by U.S. companies for capital investments rose 21 percent in August from a year earlier, the Equipment Leasing and Finance Association (ELFA) said on Thursday. The companies signed up for $8.5 billion in new loans, leases and lines of credit last month, up from $7 billion a year earlier. However, borrowings fell 14 percent from the previous month. “August data show some softness in equipment demand resulting from a mix of summer doldrums, continued supply chain disruptions and lingering pandemic-related woes,” ELFA Chief Executive Officer Ralph Petta said in a statement. “Business optimism, which peaked earlier in the summer, also has waned somewhat.” Washington-based ELFA, which reports economic activity for the nearly $1-trillion equipment finance sector, said credit approvals totaled 76.3 percent, down from 76.5 percent in July. ELFA’s leasing and finance index measures the volume of commercial equipment financed in the United States. The index is based on …