A recently released two-year study sponsored by NACE International, Houston, Tex., estimates the annual direct cost of corrosion in the U.S. to be $276 billion. The study also estimates that 25 to 30% of the total, or $70 to 80 billion could be saved by using state-of-the-art corrosion practices. The study identified the direct cost of corrosion in five major sectors of the economy: infrastructure, utilities, transportation, production and manufacturing, and government. Of these five sectors, utilities represents the largest direct cost--nearly 35% of the total, followed by transportation at 22%, infrastructure at 16%, government at 15%, and production and manufacturing at 13%.