Supply House Times Editor Jim Olsztynski discussed this issue with several master distributors and distributors recently. Here are the questions he asked and their responses. Anonymity was granted in order to encourage frank discussion.
Distributor 2: In most cases I feel that the steel pipe produced by Chinese mills is of inconsistent quality, although this is not to say the pipe does not meet spec. We have rejected more pipe from China in the last couple of years than in my entire career buying from many other countries. Material that comes in top condition from a mill one time comes in the next time with quality issues ranging from rust to incomplete or incorrect markings. I have tried to stay with the same mills and brokers to assure that our issues are minimal. Domestically produced steel is not without issues as well, but they are of minor concern.