FY2027 First 12 Days: $3.71B, and $24 Million Ahead of Last Year Once Defense Is Removed
Pulled Oct 13, 2026. Oct 1-12 obligated $3.71B versus $8.87B last year, a 58.2% drop that is DoD reporting lag. Exclude Defense and civilian spending is $24.0M higher. VA is $3.19B both years.
Short answer: The first 12 days of FY2027 obligated $3.71B, 58.2% below last year's $8.87B, because Defense reported $1.0M this year and $5.19B last year. Exclude DoD and the two windows are $3.707B and $3.683B.
Live federal contract data. No account needed for a quick look.
The first 12 days of FY2027 obligated $3.71B. The same 12 days last year obligated $8.87B. That is 58.2% lower, and it is the wrong comparison.
Defense reported $1.0M in this window and $5.19B last year. Take DoD out of both and what is left is $3.707B this year and $3.683B last year. Civilian contract spending is $24.0M higher. 0.7%.
A chart that says FY2027 opened with a collapse is counting a file that has not arrived.
Open the largest check · The bids you can still enter · Why DoD October is empty
Same 12 days, by agency
Contract obligations, award types A through D, action dates Oct 1-12. Source: USASpending spending_over_time and spending_by_category, pulled Oct 13, 2026. The $3.71B is every agency. This table is the agencies large enough to read, plus DoD so the hole is visible.
| Agency | Oct 1-12, 2026 | Oct 1-12, 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Department of Veterans Affairs | $3.19B | $3.19B |
| Department of Agriculture | $113.9M | $2.4M |
| Department of the Treasury | $108.9M | $162.8M |
| General Services Administration | $88.9M | $112.1M |
| NASA | $73.5M | $1.8M |
| Department of Commerce | $66.9M | $77.3M |
| Department of Justice | $19.1M | $4.9M |
| Department of Health and Human Services | $17.7M | $14.9M |
| Department of Homeland Security | $7.2M | $59.1M |
| Department of Defense | $1.0M | $5.19B |
Read your own row, not the headline.
VA did not move. $3.19B both years. This year is $7.9M lower. VA is 86% of the entire 12-day total.
Agriculture's jump is one timber sale. $113.9M against $2.4M. Peachtree Lumber accounts for $99.6M of it.
NASA's jump is modifications on work already held. $73.5M against $1.8M. The largest rows are Amentum spaceport services, mod P00170, and JPL Mars mission orders. Not a new program.
DoD is the entire 58.2%. Last year's first 12 days included $5.19B of Defense. This year's DoD file is one modification for $1,000,000: Jacobs Government Services, PIID W912DQ25F3060, mod P00001, Cascades Island Superfund. The rest of DoD October has not been published.
What the $3.71B actually bought
The largest obligation is not a contract you missed.
| Date | Obligation | Recipient | What it is | PIID |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Oct 7 | $900.5M | TriWest Healthcare Alliance | Base delivery order. FY26 September express report. Not a competition. | 36C10G27K0004 |
| Oct 1 | $153.0M | AT&T | Modification P00114. Enterprise network. Clause change. | 36C10A20F0309 |
| Oct 1 | $137.1M | Thundercat Technology | Modification P00004. Software updates. | 36C10B26F0287 |
| Oct 6 | $99.6M | Peachtree Lumber | Base definitive contract. Forest Service timber sale. | 12363N27C4000 |
| Oct 1 | $77.6M | Lumen | Modification P00094. Data services. Clause change. | 36C10A20F0326 |
| Oct 1 | $60.5M | General Dynamics IT | Base definitive contract. USPTO enterprise cloud. | 1333BJ27C00280001 |
| Oct 5 | $28.3M | Cellco Partnership | Modification P00019. VA wireless services. | 36C10B23C0015 |
| Oct 1 | $25.0M | FedEx Supply Chain | Base BPA call. VA mail manifest services. | 36C77027N0010 |
$900.5M of the $3.71B is that one TriWest delivery order. 24% of the 12 days. The description on the transaction is an express report for September of FY2026. It sits on a vehicle. You cannot bid it, and you could not have bid it in October.
AT&T and Lumen cite EO 14398 in the modification descriptions. Those dollars change a clause. They do not add scope.
Two rows above are definitive contracts with mod 0. Peachtree Lumber is a Forest Service timber sale described as Hurricane Helene fuels reduction, NAICS 113310. GDIT is the one new IT contract in the top rows: USPTO, enterprise cloud modernization, NAICS 541519. The rows just under this table are more FedEx mail calls, U.S. Mint metal-strip orders, and VA staffing modifications.
Where a bidder actually shows up
| NAICS | Oct 1-12 obligation | What the dollars are |
|---|---|---|
| 524114 | $901.3M | Direct health insurance. The TriWest express report. |
| 541519 | $305.9M | Other computer services. A VA software modification plus the GDIT award. |
| 517110 | $256.7M | Wired telecom. The AT&T and Lumen clause modifications. |
| 334516 | $158.8M | Analytical lab instruments. Split across many transactions, none in the top eight. |
| 492110 | $114.2M | Couriers. FedEx shipping orders at VA. |
| 113310 | $99.6M | Logging. The entire code is the Peachtree timber sale. |
| 236220 | $85.0M | Building construction. Includes a GSA delivery order, not a standalone bid. |
If you sell IT, open 541519. If you sell construction, open 236220. The named construction row under the top eight is Matos-Grunley Joint Venture, $21.3M, PIID 47PB5227F0001, a delivery order for an NRC office renovation. A delivery order is work on a vehicle you have to already hold.
What to do with a 58% chart
Caveats
Related: September closed at $55.26B once Defense is removed · 10 of 12 year-end checks were modifications · FY2027 recompetes by NAICS
Related Guides
More from the Federal Spending Trends FY2026 series