Michigan Economy Ticks Up in July but Still Is Struggling Reports Comerica Bank's Michigan Business Activity Index

DALLAS, Sept. 19, 2008 - Comerica Bank's Michigan Business Activity Index rebounded 2 points in July after falling 4 points in June. Compared to a year earlier, the July index is down 4 points on balance. Over the first seven months of 2008, the index has averaged 3 percent below the average for all of 2007.

"Big swings in auto production have made our index unusually volatile over the last three months," said Dana Johnson, Chief Economist at Comerica Bank. "Abstracting from those sharp swings, our index confirms that the state economy is contracting quite sharply in 2008. I expect our index to continue to trend lower over the balance of the year, as weakness in the national economy and the turmoil in financial markets prolongs Michigan's downturn."

The Michigan Business Activity Index equally weights nine, seasonally-adjusted coincident indicators of real economic activity. These indicators reflect activity in the construction, manufacturing, and service sectors as well as job growth and consumer outlays. Historical data is available upon request.