Every month the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) releases the number of background checks performed utilizing the National Instant Background Check System (NICS). This morning, the FBI released May’s NICS numbers.

Here’s the takeaway:

• More background checks were performed in May 2017 than in any other May since the recording began in mid-1998.
• 1,942,677 total background checks were performed.
• May is the first month in 2017 where more background checks were performed than in 2016.

When looking at how the gun industry as a whole is doing, the NICS numbers are frequently used as an indicator. It gives an idea of how many people are purchasing firearms because a background check is required for each firearm transaction.

Many in the mainstream media have said the gun industry is seeing a slump in sales because of President Trump’s election. For months though, the National Shooting Sports Foundation (NSSF) have said they have seen the same demand, if not a higher demand, since last year.

“The data indicate that consumer demand is now at or above that which we saw in 2015,” Lawrence Keane, NSSF senior vice president, told the Washington Free Beacon. “This is due to organic growth in the market as more and more Americans are participating in the shooting sports, hunting, and exercising their constitutional right to keep and bear arms for self-defense.”