If You're An American Taxpayer, These Are Your Most Recent Defense Purchases

07-12-2012 • http://www.businessinsider.com, Walter Hickey

Stuck indoors due to the oppressive heatwave sweeping the nation, the Department of Defense spent more than $9.2 billion in a mere four days. That's up from $4 billion the week before.

But we did our best to find the most compelling contracts of the 90 that were concluded in the first week of July, to see where the money went.

America ... enjoy your recent purchases:

$6 billion spent on commercial shipping

A big chunk — nearly $6 billion — paid for a year's worth of commercial shipping from eleven companies.

The shipping companies who received the largest deals were Maersk Line Ltd ($2.1B), American President Lines ($1.7B), American Roll-On Roll-off carrier ($553M), Farrell Lines Inc. ($565M), and Liberty Global Logistics LLC ($362M).

While the companies refused to provide additional details due to the confidentiality of contracts, one company we called graciously confirmed that they were moving around equipment for the Department of Defense.