Industry Notes


March 2, 2026

Metals & Mining Weekly: Nucor Spot Prices Tops $1,000/ton; US Supply Surges to >4yr High

By Gordon L. Johnson II

LME Metal Prices Mostly Lower vs. Previous Close: Today, Copper -1.92% to $5.92/lb; aluminum +0.94% to $1.57/lb; nickel -2.00% to $9.32/lb; zinc -0.48% to $1.61/lb; lead -0.35% to $1.10/lb; gold +0.60% to $5,311/oz; silver -6.52% to…

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February 26, 2026

GLJ SOLAR PRICING UPDATE – 2/25/2026: Cost pass-through stalls in midstream as end-market demand remains weak

By Gordon L. Johnson II

Please see bottom of report for important disclosures Gordon L. Johnson/GLJ Research LLC ————————————————– Polysilicon Futures Spot Contract Price (CNY$47,630/ton = $6.65/kg) – down 3.4% w/w Note: Adjusted for CNY exchange rate and 13% VAT….

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February 18, 2026

Metals & Mining Weekly: U.S. Mills Maintain the Upper Hand, But Price Hikes Slow to Stick

By Gordon L. Johnson II

LME Metal Prices Flat-to-Higher vs. Previous Close: Today, Copper +2.35% to $5.83/lb; aluminum flat at $1.53/lb; nickel flat at $9.20/lb; zinc flat at $1.59/lb; lead +0.86% to $1.09/lb; gold -0.23% to $5,046/oz; silver +6.24% to $78.11/oz;…

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February 18, 2026

Picks & Shovels: New West Virginia 1.2GW announced for ’31 CoD – AGX on shortlist?

By Austin Wang

A public utility applied to build a 1.2GW CCGT (expected to CoD in ’31) as a brownfield addition to an existing coal power plant at Fort Martin Power Station. AGX ($414.98, BUY) – 1.2GW CCGT…

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February 17, 2026

GLJ Solar Weekly – CSI Data Dump for Dec. ’25 Sheds Light on Storage Momentum & Fireside Chat w/ Solar Bull on State of Market in Q1

By Gordon L. Johnson II

California Solar Initiative (“CSI”) Data Sheds Light on State of Affairs for Module Level Performance Electronic (“MLPE”) Bellwethers Enphase and SolarEdge, as well as U.S. Storage Market. In this note, we provide the key takeaways from…

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February 10, 2026

Metals & Mining Weekly: U.S. Mills Keep Pushing – But Spreads Are Doing the Talking

By Gordon L. Johnson II

LME Metal Prices Mostly Lower vs. Previous Close: Today, Copper -0.36% to $5.92/lb; aluminum -0.28% to $1.54/lb; nickel -0.39% to $9.16/lb; zinc -0.89% to $1.60/lb; lead +0.86% to $1.09/lb; gold -0.23% to $5,046/oz; silver -1.60% to…

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February 5, 2026

ShovelCheck: AHR 2026 tradeshow checks emphasize chiller undercapacity, Rubin architecture changes

By Austin Wang

We spent an entire day speaking with the largely-private component manufacturers and distribution partners supplying the leading HVAC OEMs and data center cooling providers at a leading HVACR conference. Our conversations emphasized that 1) chillers,…

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February 2, 2026

Metals & Mining Weekly: U.S. HRC Lead Times Edge Lower w/ U.S. HRC Spot Prices Near Multi-Month High = Seasonality ‘Headwinds’ Nearing?

By Gordon L. Johnson II

LME Metal Prices Mostly Lower vs. Previous Close: Today, Copper -3.41% to $5.94/lb; aluminum -5.12% to $1.55/lb; nickel -3.8% to $9.15/lb; zinc -3.92% to $1.63/lb; lead -1.4% to $1.09/lb; gold -4.45% to $4,676/oz; silver -8.26% to…

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January 27, 2026

Two of the “Big Three” U.S. Steel Mills Reported Earnings Yesterday… and Wall Street Appears Worried

By Gordon L. Johnson II

Bottom Line: Yesterday, before the open, Steel Dynamics (STLD; NC) reported results that missed on the top line and generated just $84mn of Q4 free cash flow – far short of the ~$210mn the market…

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January 26, 2026

What do Surging Silver/Polysilicon Prices (i.e., ~9.5% of the BOM for Chinese Solar Modules) Mean for Jinko Solar’s and Canadian Solar’s Margins… and is it “Priced in”?

By Gordon L. Johnson II

What’s Up? According to PVInsights, and keeping in mind that polysilicon comprises roughly ~15% of the bill of materials (“BOM”) for a Chinese solar module, N-type recharge polysilicon prices rose ~25% y/y in 2025 –…

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January 23, 2026

Recent Solar Channel Checks Shed Light on State of Play of Demand Backdrop in Early 2026

By Gordon L. Johnson II

Bottom Line: To start 2026, Wall Street has quietly but decisively reiterated its solar optimism, though with notable selectivity. In SolarEdge (SEDG; SELL), TD Cowen broke ranks recently by upgrading the stock to Buy, chasing…

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January 22, 2026

Metals & Mining Weekly: Metals Mostly Firmer as U.S. Sheet Tightens, Plate Lags, and Iron Ore Slips

By Gordon L. Johnson II

LME Metal Prices Mostly Higher vs. Previous Close. Copper +0.17% to $5.79/lb; aluminum +0.32% to $1.56/lb; nickel +0.31% to $9.49/lb; zinc +0.61% to $1.58/lb; lead +0.11% to $1.11/lb; gold -0.20% to $4,822/oz; silver +0.58% to $93.59/oz;…

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January 21, 2026

Picks & Shovels: GEV replaces Power GM, VRT unveils <100kW density solution, AMZN buys BK solar + storage project, more CCGT prints

By Austin Wang

GE Vernova announced that Mavi Zingoni, GM of its Power division, has resigned to be replaced by Gas Power GM Eric Gray. Vertiv announced new modular cooling solution for <100kW racks. Amazon buys shovel-ready 1.2GW+1.2GW…

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January 16, 2026

GLJ Solar Weekly – California Solar Initiative Data Dump for Nov ’26 + Fireside Chat w/ Large US Solar Distributor + State of the Union in EU Solar Market + Conversation w/ China Solar Investor on Potential for Q1 Demand Pull-Forward

By Gordon L. Johnson II

California Solar Initiative (“CSI”) Data Sheds Light on State of Affairs for Module Level Performance Electronic (“MLPE”) Bellwethers Enphase and SolarEdge, as well as U.S. Storage Market. In this note, we provide the key takeaways from…

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January 15, 2026

Picks & Shovels: VRT competitor closes funding round, new data center planned for Little Rock, AK

By Austin Wang

Two-phase liquid cooling leader Accelsius closes $65mm of Series B funding at an unknown valuation, led by Johnson Controls ($35mm) and Legrand ($30mm). VRT ($172.39, SELL) – Liquid cooling entrant receives VC funding for Austin,…

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