Pipe Manufacturing and History

NorthCountry

Hello,

So far in my plumbing career, I have noticed a lot of pipe coming out of Asia, like Vietnam, China, Korea, etc...

Rarely do I see pipe from the U.S. anymore, unless it is Tyler or Charlotte. A lot of pipe from the U.S I see is usually older and is what I am removing in remodels. 

What all countries have you seen and where do you get the majority of your pipe from? 

Gilmorrie

Steel pipe, black or galvanized, is pretty-much a generic, commodity product - it customarily doesn't have a brand name affixed to it, but, of course, the country of origin should be revealed by the retailer, possibly with stickers? Steel fittings, on the other hand, are usually marked with a brand. Supplyhouse.com, for example, lists domestic U.S. fittings separately from foreign, e.g. https://www.supplyhouse.com/Black-Fittings-173000 Also, my local Ace Hardware usually stocks domestic pipe fittings.

In my opinion, I would be more concerned about fittings and nipples than bulk pipe itself. Bulk pipe is usually cut and threaded in the field, not in the fitting manufacturer's factory, wherever it might be. I tend to think that most bulk steel pipe probably is manufactured in the U.S. anyway - just shipping long sections of pipe might be quite expensive from overseas. Just my hunch.

EBEBRATT-Ed

USA & Canada

hot_rod

Much of the steel pipe is imported these days, a few domestic sources. Some brand names sell both import and domestic pipe and fittings.
There should be quite a bit printing on most any pipe. The ASTM number, API, type of tube, schedule 40 perhaps. Usually the plant and manufactured date is on, possibly coded
Some of the box store pipe will have the size printed on.

GGross

Wholesaler here, and we only stock pipe made in the US, with the exception of some of our copper pipe which might be manufactured across the lake in Canada, which is technically more local to us than the other manufacturers so I let it pass.

US pipe and fittings become important on many jobs that require it, and there are several customers of mine who have commented on the poor quality of many imported steel products. For that reason we prefer to source more locally even if the cost is slightly higher.

ChrisJ

GGross said:

Wholesaler here, and we only stock pipe made in the US, with the exception of some of our copper pipe which might be manufactured across the lake in Canada, which is technically more local to us than the other manufacturers so I let it pass.

US pipe and fittings become important on many jobs that require it, and there are several customers of mine who have commented on the poor quality of many imported steel products. For that reason we prefer to source more locally even if the cost is slightly higher.

Why does some black pipe have a dull dry feeling black finish, while others have a glossy smooth black finish?

I tend to think the dull finish indicates better pipe, but I don't know why I've come to that conclusion.

GGross

ChrisJ said:

GGross said:

Wholesaler here, and we only stock pipe made in the US, with the exception of some of our copper pipe which might be manufactured across the lake in Canada, which is technically more local to us than the other manufacturers so I let it pass.

US pipe and fittings become important on many jobs that require it, and there are several customers of mine who have commented on the poor quality of many imported steel products. For that reason we prefer to source more locally even if the cost is slightly higher.

Why does some black pipe have a dull dry feeling black finish, while others have a glossy smooth black finish?

I tend to think the dull finish indicates better pipe, but I don't know why I've come to that conclusion.

I'm not 100% sure why the finish is the way it is, however in my experience the "glossy" pipe tends to be the chinese import stuff that we sometimes see in the area. I have seen some of these as nipples that are included in installtion kits with some equipment as well, usually the cheapest thing the manufacturer could find. Most of my customers swap out the steel fittings included in install kits for fittings we stock in house

mattmia2

ChrisJ said:

Why does some black pipe have a dull dry feeling black finish, while others have a glossy smooth black finish?

The pipe that I bought from home depot about a decade ago when I ran a gas line for my grill was made I think in UAE and was painted gloss black. It was black and glossy because it was painted. Most black pipe is not painted. I think that it is oiled.

lager

I work mainly on Water treatment plants & Wastewater treatment plants

Federal funding makes it difficult to buy Stainless Steel in the U S A, it must be raw product & Smelted in the U S A,,,,,,,,according to the EPA rules,,,,,,,,,,,, I'm told the EPA drove out most of the SS forges with rules on emissions

Waher

Most of the US pipe companies consolidated after the 1970s when environmental regulations going into effect at the same time as hyperinflation and high energy prices encouraged mergers or offshoring (jobs+production+pollution) to control costs since they didn't have access the capital with high interest rates to modernize themselves into regulatory compliance & energy efficient operations.

Ward and Charlotte are the two big US manufacturers left.

WMno57

Wheatland Tube, Wheatland, Pennsylvania.
https://www.wheatland.com/products/standard-pipe/surethread
maybe a typo, but the link i posted says black pipe in 2" to 4" and galv in 1/8" to 4"
Wheatland Tube is part of Zekelman Industries. The Zekelmans are a Canadian family.