DETROIT, May 25 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The Michigan Business Activity Index compiled by Comerica Bank was 102 in April, down 5 points from March. Over the first four months of 2006, the index is averaging 3 percent below the comparable months in 2005. The reading for April matches the recent low set 11 months earlier.
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"Our index certainly confirms that the accelerating restructuring in autos is taking a toll on the Michigan economy," according to Dana Johnson, chief economist at Comerica Bank. "While the April reading for our index may exaggerate the extent of the weakness, the pattern over the first four months of the year leaves no doubt that the state economy is badly lagging national trends."
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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Photo: NewsCom: http://www.newscom.com/cgi-bin/prnh/20010807/CMALOGOSOURCE: Comerica Bank
CONTACT: Media Contact: Dana Johnson, Senior Vice President and Chief
Economist of Comerica Bank, +1-734-930-2401, or +1-800-895-7708
Web site: http://www.comerica.com/
