Comerica Survey: National Assoc. of Purchasing Managers-Metro Detroit Reports Auto Sector Distress May be Quarantined

    DETROIT, Feb. 5 Members of the National Association of
Purchasing Managers-Metro Detroit (NAPM-MD), surveyed in January by Detroit-
based Comerica Bank, reported a 7.6-point decline from December in overall
business conditions for Southeast Michigan's industrial economy.
    Comerica's composite index stood at 34.8 in January, compared with 42.4 in
December.  A year earlier, the index stood at 53.6.  "These are among the most
distressing numbers we've seen in the auto sector in a decade," said David L.
Littmann, chief economist with Comerica Bank.  "They suggest a very sharp
inventory correction, ongoing, through January, but fortunately the auto
correction has not fully cascaded into the rest of the economy."
    The index is a seasonally-adjusted weighted average measure of new orders
and production activity, employment, inventories, and promptness of supplier
deliveries.  It ranges from 0 to 100.  A composite index below 50 generally
means conditions are deteriorating; levels above 50 denote expansion.

                                 AUTO            NON-AUTO             TOTAL
                             DEC       JAN     DEC      JAN       DEC      JAN

    NAPM-MD
    Composite Index         41.4      24.1    42.9     45.0      42.4     34.8

        Production          36.1      13.6    35.3     41.7      35.6     28.3
        New Orders          36.9      15.2    50.5     42.0      45.5     29.2

        Inventories         55.4      38.6    35.1     43.8      42.6     41.3
        Employment          33.1      17.4    32.9     44.0      33.0     31.3
        Vendor Performance  44.9      52.3    38.9     45.8      41.1     48.9
        Prices              55.7      50.0    53.8     60.0      54.5     55.3

    Weighting               43.2      47.9    56.8     52.1     100.0    100.0


    Comerica's composite index is based on surveys of local purchasing
managers belonging to the 500-member NAPM-MD (National Association of
Purchasing Management-Metro Detroit).
    Comerica Bank, the oldest and largest bank in Michigan, is a subsidiary of
Comerica Incorporated , 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.  Comerica has an investment services affiliate, Munder Capital
Management, and operates banking subsidiaries in Canada and Mexico.