Despite sequestration--and partly because of it--the forecast for the final quarter of fiscal 2013 appears to show the annual spending surge once again.

Federal agencies typically spend a third or more of their annual contracting budgets in the final quarter that ends Sept. 30. Many contracts that had faced delays for one reason or another are pushed through to avoid expiration of existing funding.

As of July 8, the government had reported $234 billion spent on prime contracts for fiscal 2013, USASpending.gov shows. Accounting for not-yet-reported Defense Department (DOD) obligations, it’s probably closer to $300 billion spent. That is about 60% of anticipated total prime contracting this year, with 40% left to go.

Prime contracts totaled $517 billion in fiscal 2012. That fell from $539 billion a year before. This year’s total is not yet known, but most likely will be around $500 billion or less, due to sequestration.

The sequester has not only impacted total funding, but also the timing of contracts. The prolonged uncertainty about budgets from October through March delayed many federal contracts until later in the year. Delayed work most likely will contribute to a fourth-quarter rush.

Most of the pending contracts are in DOD. As of July 8 on USASpending.gov, DOD had reported $137 billion in prime contracts this fiscal year. That amount is 90 days late, suggesting a real-time total closer to $200 billion obligated. With $361 billion tallied for fiscal 2012 and a lower forecast for fiscal 2013, there could be $140 billion or so to be spent by DOD between now and Sept. 30.

Other fourth-quarter spending forecasts include Health and Human Services, $9 billion; Veterans Affairs, $6 billion; NASA, $5 billion; and Homeland Security, $4 billion.

Also, the White House’s Small Business Dashboard showed $36 billion in small business contracts for fiscal 2013, as of July 8. That compares with $90 billion in small business contracts for fiscal 2012.

It’s too early to say how this year’s surge might compare to last year’s. In fiscal 2012, federal agencies awarded more than $138 billion in contracts from July 1 to Sept. 30, an increase from $90 billion in the third quarter, according to Deltek.

More information: Deltek article: http://goo.gl/lk3s6