DETROIT, Jan. 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- In December, the Detroit Area
Business Activity Index declined to 98, down eight points from November's
level of 106. A year earlier the index stood at 95.
(Photo: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20010807/CMALOGO )
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 Metro-Detroit economy advanced 6.1 percent in 2002. This represents
a dramatic turnaround from 2001's 6.6-percent contraction," said David
Littmann, chief economist with Comerica Bank in Detroit. "With turnaround
also in the profit picture for Detroit's Big 3 in 2002, it appears likely that
the Detroit area economy can achieve new economic territory in 2003."
The Economics Department of Comerica Bank has calculated the Detroit Area
Business Activity Index 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), a multi-state financial services provider
headquartered in Detroit, with banking subsidiaries in Michigan, California
and Texas, banking operations in Florida, and businesses in several other
states.
SOURCE Comerica Bank
-0- 01/21/2003
/CONTACT: David L. Littmann, Senior Vice President & Chief Economist of
Comerica Bank, +1-313-222-7241, or +1-800-895-7708/
/Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20010807/CMALOGO
PRN Photo Desk, +1-888-776-6555 or +1-212-782-2840/
