Spending Trends

Time and Materials Contract Spending Trends

Time and Materials Contract Spending Trends shows how federal contract spending changes across the visible time series in FPDS-derived procurement data.

The latest visible point is 2025 at 19.79. Across the visible range, the series changed by 4,502.33%.

Federal Contract Spending Spending Trends Spending Series Series

Updated 03/20/2026

Latest Period
2025
19.79
Visible Change
4,502.33%
19.36
Peak Period
2024
26.57
Trend Direction
Up
Very Strong

Analysis

The latest visible point is 2025 at 19.79. Across the visible range, the series changed by 4,502.33%.

Why it matters: Use this page to evaluate how federal contract spending levels shift over time and identify inflection points.

Methodology: The query returns a structured time series, detects a period column and a primary numeric metric, and computes visible-series statistics such as latest value, peak, low, and overall change.

Commentary

Time and Materials Contract Spending Trends tracks federal contract spending over time in FPDS-derived data.

Key takeaway: The latest visible point is 2025 at 19.79. Overall visible change is 4,502.33%.

Analyst note: This page is best used for directional review, turning points, and quick comparison against related time windows or scopes.

Trend Chart

This chart plots Federal Contract Spending over the visible time series returned by the query.

Query Used

-- Time and Materials Contract Spending Trends
SELECT
    fiscal_year,
    round(sum(obligated_amount) / 1000000000, 2) AS spending_billion_usd,
    count() AS award_count,
    round(sum(obligated_amount) / count(), 0) AS avg_award_size
FROM
(
    SELECT
        if(
            toUInt8(substring(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate, 6, 2)) >= 10,
            toUInt16(substring(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate, 1, 4)) + 1,
            toUInt16(substring(content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate, 1, 4))
        ) AS fiscal_year,
        content__award__dollarValues__obligatedAmount AS obligated_amount,
        content__award__contractData__typeOfContractPricing__description AS pricing_type
    FROM fpds.data
    WHERE
        contract_type = 1
        AND content__award__relevantContractDates__signedDate != ''
        AND content__award__contractData__typeOfContractPricing__description IS NOT NULL
        AND (
            positionCaseInsensitive(
                content__award__contractData__typeOfContractPricing__description,
                'time'
            ) > 0
            OR positionCaseInsensitive(
                content__award__contractData__typeOfContractPricing__description,
                'materials'
            ) > 0
        )
)
WHERE fiscal_year < toYear(today())
GROUP BY fiscal_year
ORDER BY fiscal_year ASC

Trend Table

This table shows the structured time series returned by the query.

Fiscal Year Spending Billion Usd Award Count Avg Award Size
1979 0.43 5579 78362
1980 0.53 7588 70389
1981 0.72 7271 99152
1982 0.82 8393 98791
1983 0.90 6537 138500
1984 1.13 7344 154856
1985 1.22 7767 157192
1986 1.49 9245 161951
1987 1.95 10595 184496
1988 2.15 12046 178952
1989 2.34 11302 207495
1990 2.45 12591 195298
1991 2.72 13669 199648
1992 2.99 14541 205739
1993 2.89 13387 216535
1994 3.60 15288 235805
1995 4.94 20425 241898
1996 4.82 18436 261613
1997 4.59 19194 239296
1998 5.10 19739 258381
1999 5.91 21396 276346
2000 7.87 27246 289162
2001 6.48 31746 204383
2002 8.84 39832 222020
2003 12.18 45935 265267
2004 14.69 71913 204298
2005 17.29 67960 254417
2006 20.35 68726 296183
2007 21.60 68890 313605
2008 23.35 66044 353630
2009 22.21 74217 299293
2010 22.08 66819 330479
2011 18.11 67145 269853
2012 16.10 56644 284319
2013 12.61 48559 259690
2014 12.08 45782 263950
2015 11.66 43093 270601
2016 13.11 41811 313763
2017 14.21 42219 336807
2018 17.61 43058 409000
2019 18.73 40832 458913
2020 20.93 44274 472833
2021 21.31 46140 461932
2022 21.34 45941 464564
2023 23.69 45881 516548
2024 26.57 47356 561268
2025 19.79 46011 430151

How This Trend Is Built

Measure how a selected procurement metric changes across time.

Query structure

  • The query selects a time dimension used as the x-axis for the trend.
  • It calculates or returns a numeric metric for each visible period.
  • The result is interpreted as a chronological series for trend analysis.
  • The metric focuses on obligated dollars or a directly related spending aggregate.

Included fields

  • fiscal_year — Defines the chronological unit used for the trend series.
  • spending_billion_usd — Defines the main value plotted and analyzed over time.
  • award_count — Provides additional numeric context that can support interpretation.
  • avg_award_size — Provides additional numeric context that can support interpretation.

How to use this trend

  • trend direction analysis
  • time-series review
  • federal procurement timing analysis
  • spending trajectory review
  • budget pattern review

Computed Metrics

Series Points
47
First Visible Point
1979
0.43
Mean
10.61
Median
8.84
Max
26.57
2024
Min
0.43
1979
Volatility
8.29
8.29
Rows Returned
47

Series Extremes

Largest Increase
3.4
2017 → 2018 · 23.93%
Largest Decrease
-6.78
2024 → 2025 · -25.52%

Related Pages

Method Notes

  • Trend interpretation is based on the returned query result set ordered by the detected period column.
  • Change metrics compare the first visible point and the latest visible point in the series.
  • Volatility is based on the standard deviation of the visible numeric series.

Use FPDS Query for deeper trend analysis

Go beyond the published time series with custom SQL, broader filters, saved queries, and deeper procurement analysis across agencies, vendors, industries, states, contract structures, and competitive segments.

Continue from this trend page into full FPDS Query workflows with deeper filtering, custom SQL, saved queries, and broader market comparison.