ADESA Analytical Services Provides Data, Expertise To U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis

    INDIANAPOLIS--June 18, 2002--ADESA Corp.'s Industry Relations Analytical Services department is providing monthly wholesale used vehicle price trends and other information to the United States Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA). This information, which ADESA is providing at the BEA's request, will be used as part of the BEA's efforts to estimate various components of Gross Domestic Product. The BEA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce.
    "Our immediate goal is to improve the quality and timeliness of our estimates of dealer margins on used cars and light trucks," said Ralph Morris, an economist with the BEA. "This in turn will help us better estimate national used car and light truck purchases, which are an important part of the personal consumption expenditures portion of GDP."
    ADESA's vice president of industry relations and analytical services, Tom Kontos, will also provide analytical support to the BEA.
    "There are always nuances to used vehicle data that those of us in the vehicle remarketing industry are familiar with, but which may not be apparent from looking at an index or averages," said Kontos. "ADESA is very excited to be providing this type of input to as important a national economic information source as the BEA."
    ADESA Analytical Services publishes the annual report, Global Vehicle Remarketing and the quarterly report, Pulse. These publications cover the $78 billion vehicle remarketing industry and the $390 billion used vehicle market in the U.S. and Canada. Copies of these reports may be obtained by contacting ADESA's Industry Relations and Analytical Services department at 1-800-923-3725, extension, 4251 or by visiting www.adesa.com/kontoskorner.

    Headquartered in Indianapolis, Ind., ADESA Corp. is a wholly owned subsidiary of ALLETE, Inc. . ADESA, through its network of subsidiary companies, operates 52 wholesale vehicle auctions and six heavy-duty commercial vehicle auctions strategically located across the United States and Canada. In addition, ADESA's network of companies operates several other related businesses in the vehicle remarketing industry including ADESA Impact total loss recovery services (with 24 auction locations), ComSearch professional claim outsourcing services for the property and casualty insurance industry, Automotive Finance Corp. (AFC) dealer financing, Micro 21 dealer software, AutoVin inspection services, PAR North America remarketing services, and ADESA Importation Services (AIS). For further information on ADESA Corp., call 1-800-923-3725 or go to www.adesa.com.

    The statements contained in this release and statements that ADESA may make orally in connection with this release that are not historical facts are forward-looking statements. Actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements involve risks and uncertainties and investors are directed to the risks in documents filed by ALLETE,Inc., ADESA Corp.'s parent company, with the Securities and Exchange Commission.