How PTJ verifies — Methodology

How PTJ classifies capability

Every company that appears in a PTJ capability report carries one of seven labels:

1. ✅ Verified North American manufacturing — the company confirmed current production to us in writing within the last 12 months, or we obtained direct evidence such as a quotation offering production or a recent mill test certificate.
2. 📄 Company-published capability — the company's own current materials say it, and we tell you the date we read them. A website claim is not proof of current production, available tooling, acceptable minimum quantities, or stock — and we never treat it as such.
3. 🔧 Domestic processing of imported tube — real North American processing (drawing, annealing, cutting, coating) applied to tube formed elsewhere, or whose forming origin we could not determine (stated when so).
4. 📦 Distributor or importer — resells tube; includes companies that describe themselves as importers.
5. 🔎 Potential route requiring confirmation — published capability makes production plausible; our verification is pending or unanswered.
6. 🕰 Historical capability; current status unknown — evidence older than 24 months without reconfirmation, or status signals we have not yet resolved directly with the company.
7. ⛔ No current evidence found — we searched and found nothing. This is a statement about our evidence, never a statement that a company cannot make something.

The rules behind the labels

• "Verified" expires. A ✅ label older than 12 months without reconfirmation drops to 📄. A 📄 claim older than 24 months drops to 🕰. Every row shows its last-verified date.
• Companies see it first. Before a company is named in a capability report, we send the exact proposed row and label, with ten business days to respond. A response changes a label only through evidence meeting the definitions above. Non-response is recorded neutrally — "no response by [date]" — and never characterized as refusal.
• Disputes are shown, not hidden. A disputed row displays both our label and "Disputed by company — under review" until resolved. If the evidence is balanced, the more conservative label wins.
• We never say "can't." Absence of evidence is labeled as absence of evidence.
• Confidential information stays confidential. Minimum quantities, lead times, and capability details shared with us in confidence are published only in bands or aggregates, with written consent.

Standards

We cite standards by designation, edition, and clause — for example, "ASTM A500/A500M-23, Table 2" — and we summarize requirements in our own words. We do not reproduce standards text or tables, which are the copyrighted property of their publishers. If you need the requirements themselves, buy the official standard: ASTM International (astm.org), your CEN national body (e.g., DIN, BSI), or the Japanese Standards Association (jsa.or.jp). Where our working copy of a standard is not the newest edition, the page says so.

Trade and market facts

Tariff, duty, and trade-measure statements cite primary sources — the Federal Register, US Customs and Border Protection, the Canada Border Services Agency, the Department of Finance Canada — with document numbers and effective dates. Trade content is informational, not customs or legal advice; measures change, and your customs broker has the final word on your entries.

Corrections

Corrections are published inline, dated, and logged in the public claims ledger (/claims-ledger). Material corrections are flagged in The Tube Brief. To report an error: corrections@precisiontubejournal.com. We aim to acknowledge within 2 business days and resolve within 10.

What PTJ is

Precision Tube Journal is commercially related to Tightsteel (sourcing services) and Succession MFG (software), and those relationships are disclosed wherever relevant — see /disclosures. We don't use the word "independent" to describe ourselves. We offer instead a documented method, published sources, labeled confidence, and public corrections.