$6 billion contracted with black owned firms in FY 2010-11

The Federal Procurement Data System reports 14,821 contracts with such companies during the fiscal year which ended Sept. 30.   There is a 90-day delay on reporting of Department of Defense contracts, so a final tally will not be available until the end of the year.

More than half of the winning bidders are in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia, just over $3 billion (see chart).  The top ten states received $4.9 billion in awards, with just over $1 billion spread among the other 40 states.

A Piece of the Pie: State of Black Business, 8th edition recommends greater geographic distribution of contracts to black-owned businesses as part of a strategy to reduce unemployment and foster growth in depressed neighborhoods.

For instance, New York, the state with the largest number of black-owned companies with more than 200,000, ranked 12th in the volume of contracts during the fiscal year with just over $105 million in successful bids.

The report also suggests that the level of contracts could easily reach five to seven percent of all federal bids, with expanded outreach and management attention.  The current total is just over one percent of all federal contracts.

Here are the totals by state: