Deltek’s GovWin IQ service tracked and tabulated U.S. federal government contract spending over the course of the 2021 fiscal year and has determined a $629 billion total, including a defense spending sum of $383 billion.
The total figure is an incremental step down from 2020’s federal government contract spending but a notable increase from 2019, the company said Thursday.
“2021 was again a strong year for federal contracting. While overall contract spending dipped slightly compared to 2020, several departments and market segments saw a significant increase in spending, especially from within civilian agencies,” observed GovCon Expert Kevin Plexico, senior vice president of Information Solutions at Deltek and three-time winner of the Wash100 Award.
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The company reported that treasury spending on government contracts increased by 44 percent as a result of precious metal-related projects and spending by the interior increased at a 12 percent clip based on technological and infrastructure investments.
In addition, spending by the state department climbed 11 percent because of embassy construction and relocation task forces for Afghani refugees.
Defense spending was down nine percent from 2020’s $422 billion total, while the team at Deltek that runs the GovWin IQ platform found that civilian spending stayed almost the same, declining only a slight zero point eight percent from $248 billion to $246 billion.
Decreases in spending during 2021 as opposed to 2020 were reportedly due to COVID-19-related apprehensions among contract providers.
Defense decreases were mainly attributable to a waning in U.S. Navy contract spending, which had a large profile in 2020 but whose aircraft, ship and submarine programs dipped over the course of 2021. Deltek says all other military branches’ contract spending remained stable.
Agriculture and commerce sectors also experienced downturns in spending numbers for government contracts.
The source of the data, Deltek’s GovWin IQ platform, not only tracks contract award information but also assists companies in identifying new income and project opportunities through its algorithm and interface. The program underwent several notable upgrades and enhancements in 2021.
