Seven federal agencies spent more on contracts last year than they did in fiscal 2012, despite a general downward trend due to budget cuts and the draw down of troops in the Middle East, GovExec reported Tuesday.
The publication cited a new Bloomberg study that found an 11 percent decrease in federal contract spending in 2013, affecting 12 of 19 major agencies, including the U.S. Agency for International Development and the Defense Department.
The Education and Treasury departments reported double-digit increases of 27 percent and 16.4 percent, respectively, over fiscal 2012, with Housing and Urban Development (9.5%), Justice (7%), Veterans Affairs (5.3%), Health and Human Services (4.6%) and Homeland Security (2.1%) also bucking the downward trend.
Overall federal contracting fell from $516.3 billion to $462.1 billion, Bloomberg said, with defense contracts slowing by 15 percent.
Defense contractors still topped the Bloomberg 200 list for fiscal 2013, led by Lockheed Martin with $44.3 billion, Boeing ($21.6 billion), General Dynamics ($14 billion), Raytheon ($13.7 billion) and Northrop Grumman ($10.8 billion) rounding up the top five.
Enterprises with products fared better than those that offer services, the report said, noting, “Of the top 10 companies primarily involved in products, five protected or increased their contract award dollars, compared with three of the top 10 companies that provide services.â€
