DETROIT, July 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Detroit Area Business Activity Index edged down to 105 in June after holding at 106 in April and May. The latest reading is a new low for the year and is down 8 percent from last June.

(Logo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20010807/CMALOGO )

"Our index dropped to its lowest reading in 3 years," said Dana Johnson, chief economist at Comerica Bank. "I suspect that the Detroit area is now going through the period of maximum pain due to the aggressive restructuring in the Michigan-based auto industry. Over the second half of the year, our index will continue to be depressed by sizable cuts in jobs and hours worked as the auto worker buyouts show through in the regional data."

Comerica Bank compiles the Detroit Area Business Activity Index (DABAI) monthly from eight different measures of regional activity which are seasonally adjusted, corrected for inflation, and expressed as an index, with 1996 as base year equal to 100. The Economics Department of Comerica Bank has calculated the DABAI monthly since 1957; depicting Metro-Detroit's economy over seven full swings of the U.S. business cycle.

Comerica Incorporated (NYSE: CMA) is a financial services company headquartered in Detroit, strategically aligned by three business segments: The Business Bank, The Retail Bank, and Wealth & Institutional Management. Comerica focuses on relationships and helping businesses and people to be successful.

To receive this index directly to your email inbox, go to http://www.comerica.com/econsubscribe to subscribe.

SOURCE: Comerica Bank

CONTACT: Dana Johnson, Senior Vice President & Chief Economist of
Comerica Bank, +1-734-930-2401, or +1-800-895-7708

Web site: http://www.comerica.com/
http://www.comerica.com/econsubscribe