DETROIT, June 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Detroit Area Business Activity Index edged down 1 point in April to a level of 111. So far this year, the index has averaged 112, down 3 points or about 2 percent from the 2004 average. The index has been moving sideways with a slight downward drift for about a year and a half.
"Economic activity in the Detroit Region is not making any headway yet," according to Dana Johnson, chief economist at Comerica Bank. "Downward adjustments in production and employment in the auto industry are continuing to roughly offset spotty growth in other sectors."
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 Bank, the largest bank in Michigan, is a subsidiary of Comerica Incorporated (NYSE:CMA) . Headquartered in Detroit, Comerica is strategically aligned by the Business Bank, Small Business Banking & Personal Financial Services, and Wealth & Institutional Management. Comerica focuses on relationships, and helping businesses and people be successful. Comerica reported total assets of $53.5 billion at March 31, 2005.
CONTACT: Dana Johnson, Senior Vice President & Chief Economist of
Comerica Bank, +1-734-930-2401 or +1-800-895-7708
NOTE TO EDITORS: A chart detailing the Detroit Area Business Activity Index since January, 2000, is available at http://www.comerica.com in the Economics section.
