DALLAS, Nov. 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Comerica Bank's preliminary September Michigan Business Activity Index fell 1 point, to a level of 85. The Index is currently 1 point below August's revised level of 86. September's advanced figure is the lowest level in 14 years. Compared to a year earlier, the September Index is down 9 points on balance. Over the first nine months of 2008, the Index has averaged 4 percent below the average for all of 2007.
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"Even before the worst of the credit crunch slammed the national economy, our index shows the Michigan economy contracting again in September," said Dana Johnson, Chief Economist at Comerica Bank. "With most national numbers worsening dramatically in October, the drag on the Michigan economy almost certainly will get more intense over the next several months, particularly given the emerging cutbacks in the Michigan-based auto sector."
The Michigan Business Activity Index equally weights nine, seasonally-adjusted coincident indicators of real economic activity. These indicators reflect activity in the construction, manufacturing, and service sectors as well as job growth and consumer outlays. Historical data is available upon request.
Comerica Incorporated is a financial services company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and strategically aligned by three business segments: The Business Bank, The Retail Bank, and Wealth & Institutional Management. Comerica focuses on relationships, and helping people and businesses be successful. In addition to Texas, Comerica Bank locations can be found in Arizona, California, Florida and Michigan, with select businesses operating in several other states, as well as in Canada, China and Mexico. Comerica reported total assets of $65.2 billion as of September 30, 2008.
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Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20010807/CMALOGOSOURCE: Comerica Bank
CONTACT: media contact, Dana Johnson, Senior Vice President and Chief
Economist, +1-214-462-6839, djohnson@comerica.com, or data contact, Meaghan
Derrick, Research Assistant, +1-214-462-6815, maderrick@comerica.com, both of
Comerica Bank
Web Site: http://www.comerica.com/
