Researchers outside the Government said it would be difficult for a drug benefit to generate overall savings.

It expects to cut another $44 a ton over the next four years, for an overall savings of almost 12 percent.

The cost factors of transportation would be minimal compared with the possible overall saving.

The net result was a positive, but quite modest, increase in overall savings.

Forcing employees to make a choice seems to have a positive, and welcome, effect on overall savings.

After all, what the Government does is a minor part of the overall saving and investment equation.

"But it looks like a lot of plants are going to realize overall savings."

The Government calculated the overall savings at nearly $650 million, or about 20 percent.

However, the technology is not very robust and overall savings can be highly variable.

The result is an overall savings to the company on its cost of labor.