Wisconsin has suffered a big loss in the amount of money it receives from federal contracts. The Wisconsin Procurement Institute said the state’s businesses received $3.4 billion dollars in federal contracts during the last fiscal year that ended September 30thm, which is down 52 percent from the $7.2 billion they received in fiscal year 2011. As a result, Wisconsin is now 28th among the 50 states in the amount it receives in federal contracts, dropping from 22nd the previous year.
A major reason for the drop is that the war in Afghanistan is winding down. Preliminary figures show that the Army spent 75 percent less in the Badger State this year than last. The Oshkosh Corporation, famous for its military vehicles, saw its federal business drop from about $7 billion in 2010 to just under $4 billion this past year.
The numbers of Wisconsin firms getting federal contracts dropped from about 2,950 last year to just under 2,400 in fiscal 2012.