DETROIT, Oct. 23 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Detroit Area Business Activity Index dropped to 105 in September, off 3 points from August. The latest reading matches the previous low for the year and is down 6 percent from last September. So far this year, the Detroit index has averaged 3-1/2 percent less than it did in 2005.

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"The restructuring of the Michigan-based auto manufacturing sector continues to overwhelm pockets of strength in other parts of the regional economy," according to Dana Johnson, Chief Economist at Comerica Bank. "I don't expect the local economy to start recovering until the buyouts in the auto sector are largely complete."

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.

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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/