DETROIT, Oct. 19 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Michigan Business Activity Index compiled by Comerica Bank fell 5 points in September, to 103, and the August reading was revised down by 2 points to 108. The latest reading is down 3 percent from a year ago; and so far this year, our index has averaged 1.8 percent less than it did in 2005.

"The downward trend of our index strongly suggests that the state economy is still contracting," said Dana Johnson, Chief Economist at Comerica Bank. "While I believe that Michigan will bottom out some time in 2007, the near- term prospect is for more weakness given that national growth has slowed and the local auto companies are still cutting jobs and slashing fourth-quarter production schedules."

The Michigan Business Activity Index (MBAI) represents ten different measures of Michigan economic activity compiled monthly by the Economics Department of Comerica Bank. The MBAI is seasonally adjusted, corrected for inflation, and expressed as an index, with 1996 as base year equal to 100. The MBAI series has been calculated monthly since 1957 and depicts state economic activity 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.

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