U.S. defense contractors may be waiting longer than anticipated for the full payoff from higher military spending authorized by Congress this year and backed by the Trump administration.

While additional money is already flowing to government suppliers, a slowdown in contract awards means the year-to-year surge in defense spending may stretch out over a lengthier period of time, said Roman Schweizer, an analyst with Cowen Washington Research Group, which has tracked government policy for the past four decades. That means year-to-year spikes would appear smaller.