FED-SPEND INTELLIGENCELive sources: USASpending.gov · SAM.gov · FPDS · GAO|Coverage: all federal agencies across every NAICS code|Tools: Recompete Radar · pWin Verdict · RFP Shredder · Price-to-Win|Pulled live from authoritative federal data
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September 2026 Federal Contract Awards, Final: $55.26B, and Within 2% of Last Year Once DoD Is Removed

USASpending pulled Oct 3, 2026. September closed at $55.26B. Last September was $148.53B because DoD reported $92.35B. This September DoD is $74M. Exclude Defense and spending is 1.8% lower than last year. $43.25B of it landed in the last 17 days.

Fed-Spend Research Team•October 6, 2026•9 min read

Short answer: September 2026 federal contract obligations were $55.26B. Last September was $148.53B only because DoD reported $92.35B. Exclude Defense and the two months are $55.18B and $56.18B, 1.8% apart.

TL;DR · Key Facts
  • ▸September 2026 federal contract obligations were $55.26B. September 2025 was $148.53B. Exclude DoD and the months are $55.18B vs $56.18B, 1.8% apart. Pulled from USASpending on Oct 3, 2026.
  • ▸$43.25B of this September (78%) landed Sep 14-30. The first 13 days were $12.00B. DHS led at $11.36B, then HHS $6.94B, VA $6.83B, and GSA $5.38B.
  • ▸DoD September 2026 is $74M. DoD September 2025 was $92.35B. Construction (NAICS 236220) was $6.25B. IT services (541512, 541519, 541511) was $11.98B.
Source: Fed-Spend analysis of public federal contract data (USASpending.gov, FPDS, SAM.gov, GAO). Methodology and full report below.
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September 2026 closed at $55.26B in federal contract obligations. Last September was $148.53B.

That is not a collapse. Last September included $92.35B from the Department of Defense. This September, DoD has reported $74M. Take Defense out of both months and what is left is $55.18B this year and $56.18B last year. 1.8% apart.

Any chart this week that says federal contracting fell by about 60% in September is counting a reporting lag as a spending cut.

Search September awards for your NAICS · Who got the last 17 days · The DoD number that is still missing

The month, by agency

Contract obligations, award types A through D, action dates Sep 1-30. Source: USASpending spending_by_category and spending_over_time, pulled Oct 3, 2026. The $55.26B is every agency. This table is the largest ones, plus DoD so the hole is visible.

AgencySep 2026Sep 2025
Department of Homeland Security$11.36B$12.09B
Department of Health and Human Services$6.94B$6.05B
Department of Veterans Affairs$6.83B$10.14B
General Services Administration$5.38B$4.25B
Department of Energy$3.92B$4.26B
Department of Transportation$3.31B$1.90B
NASA$3.12B$3.31B
Department of State$2.78B$3.03B
Department of Justice$2.21B$1.58B
Department of Agriculture$1.76B$2.00B
Department of the Interior$1.68B$1.38B
Department of the Treasury$1.17B$1.35B
Department of Commerce$997M$968M
Social Security Administration$939M$718M
Department of Defense$74M$92.35B

Three moves are large enough to plan around.

VA is the civilian agency that actually slowed. $6.83B against $10.14B last September. On Sep 13 we noted VA had already had its big month in July. The full month confirms it. If you sell to VA, September was not the window.

Transportation almost doubled, $3.31B against $1.90B. GSA went from $4.25B to $5.38B. HHS went from $6.05B to $6.94B. DHS stayed the largest civilian buyer, $11.36B against $12.09B, and most of that is Customs and Border Protection at $5.39B.

Inside DHS: CBP $5.39B, ICE $1.43B, Coast Guard $1.40B, the Office of Procurement Operations $1.30B, TSA $789M.

Where it went, by NAICS

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NAICSWhat it isSep 2026
236220Commercial and institutional building construction$6.25B
541512Computer systems design$5.28B
541519Other computer related services$4.90B
541330Engineering services$2.51B
541715R&D, physical, engineering, and life sciences$2.47B
541611Management consulting$2.20B
561210Facilities support$1.97B
541511Custom computer programming$1.80B
524114Direct health and medical insurance$1.34B
541990Other professional and technical services$1.33B
336414Guided missiles and space vehicles$917M
561612Security guards and patrol$813M

Construction is the single largest code. IT services is three codes, and together they are $11.98B, before DoD reports. If you hold 541512, 541519, or 541511, the civilian close was your market.

The surge was the back half

Sep 1-13: $12.00B. That is the window in the Sep 13 post.

Sep 14-30: $43.25B. 78% of the month.

The back half is not 78% new competitions. Of the 12 largest obligations in those 17 days, 10 are modifications on contracts the recipient already held. The two that are new actions are task orders on a parent vehicle. The list, with PIIDs, is here.

What to do with the close

  • Find your code in the table and open the search. The number above is the whole government. Your number is the one in your NAICS.
  • Do not treat a September modification as a bid you missed. Look up the PIID before you brief it as a loss.
  • If you sell to DoD, ignore every September total you see this week. The quarter that is missing is sized in the DoD post. Set the alert now. The rows land in December and January.

    • Caveats

  • These are obligations on actions dated in September, not new-award ceilings and not the lifetime value of the contract. A $40B management contract that received a small modification this month does not count as $40B of September spending.
  • DoD is late, not small. $74M is what has been published, not what was signed. Same month last year, DoD was $92.35B.
  • Excluding DoD is a subtraction, then a rounding. $55.18B and $56.18B are the exact all-agency totals minus the exact DoD totals, each rounded to the nearest $10M. The 1.8% is computed before rounding.
  • NAICS is the contract's primary code. A firm that works across codes should open each one.
  • The file is still moving. Between Sep 13 and Oct 3, DoD's June figure went from $17.65B (partial) to $43.19B. September civilian totals can still be revised.

    • Related: The 12 largest checks of the last 17 days · $175.6B of DoD Q4 still missing · FY2027 recompetes by NAICS

    Put this post to work
    • Who got the last 17 days: 10 of 12 big checks were modifications
    • The $175.6B of DoD Q4 that is still not in the data
    • Get an alert when your agency or NAICS posts a new obligation
    • The Sep 13 partial: first 13 days, before the month closed
    Same data. 68x cheaper.GovWin $40K/yr · GovTribe $25K/yr · Bloomberg Gov $5.7K/yrSee pricing

    Related Guides

    More from the Federal Spending Trends FY2026 series

    Last 17 Days of FY2026: 10 of 12 Largest Obligations Were ModificationsDoD FY2026 Q4: $175.6B Still Not in the DataSeptember 2026 Awards So Far: $10.7B Civilian, DoD Missing Until DecemberICE Shock Gloves: $16.7M to Compliant TechnologiesFederal Spending Trends FY2026FY2025 Market Report: $778B Mapped

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