Middle market investment bank Brown Gibbons Lang (BGL) said according to its Shifting into High Gear industry report the manufacturing sector in the U.S. has reached the highest rate of growth in more than four years.

The BGL Industrials Insider highlights the expansion in the U.S. manufacturing sector for the 17th consecutive month. In fact, virtually all manufacturing industries expanded in the month of October, with strong demand and growth, and with new orders cited.

An expanding U.S. manufacturing sector is spurring investment in capital equipment and benefiting suppliers of industrial components. Key drivers of future equipment demand will be the replenishment of aging fleets, a recovering nonresidential construction market, and increased investment in civil and energy infrastructure, BGL notes.

BGL said private equity is betting on the continued revival of the U.S. manufacturing economy, evidenced by increased investment in industrial companies, among them manufacturers of custom precision gears and engineered drive solutions where M&A activity is on the rise.