The Obama administration is purging consulting contracts faster than expected in a schedule it had set for itself, according to a recent study by Bloomberg Government.

Federal consulting awards totaled $13.1 billion in the first half of FY2012, which was 28% less than the $18.3 billion spent in the first half of FY2010, the study of the latest procurement data showed.

Based on that data, the Obama administration appears likely to exceed its goal of cutting consulting budgets and other support services contracts by 15% over the two years ending Sept. 30, 2012.

The goal was announced by Jeff Zients, then-deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget, in July 2011.

Total annual federal spending on consultants rose steadily from $35 billion in FY2007 to $43 billion in FY2010, and dropped to $40 billion in FY2011.

Spending on acquisition planning, program management and information technology services had quadrupled in the past decade, outpacing fast growth in contract spending generally, according to a memo in November 2011 from Danny Werfel, OMB’s controller, Bloomberg Government said.

“Sometimes agencies are spending money on consultants to write reports that really don’t go anywhere — they sit on the shelf,” Zients said when he announced the goal last year.