... neglecting to identify production that is a net loss. I know if you hover over a building it tells you the net loss/gain, so am I expected to hover over all my buildings frequently to figure this out?
How is this calculated? Is it "total market price of input materials" - "total market price of output materials", accounting for quantities of inputs and outputs per second? Does that number include power? When you hover over a building with adjacency it shows the figure with the adjacency bonus. Isn't that the number you are really going for, not the single building one along the left hand side?
Price at the building list is a pointer what to go for when you don't have the building yet. Relevant is the factory on the map.
Afaik both power and fuel (if any) are factored into prices, you see net revenue with fully loaded freigthers.
Having a cluster of factories increases output, but not resource consumption (except fuel). This means if you have 3 factories with 75% bonus, you get 2.25 * output for free. Now price levels suddenly matter a lot for cash flow - whether glass is at 160 or at 350, even if the "profit" displayed in the building list is 0.
The big question is opportunity cost - is there a better, more profitable use for the claim? Reorganisation is not free - you lose building materials and production time, so the difference should pay for this fast. (When resource prices colapse, it may be an option to substitute production with energy it its in nirwana. Most resource buildings were free anyway). Is there a solid good you can produce at a profit? How much will building it cost you?
If there is an obvious answer - maybe food - go for it.
First question: why are silicon prices so high? Are there too few resource claims on the map, or was there a solar power spending binge?
Next - why is glass so unprofitable? Is there overproduction from your competition? Are HQ expansions imminent, driving up prices soon, or important endgame buildings coming up? Do most of HQs not use glass? How expensive is oxygen? If there is still good demand but competition, one answer might be to take out their production via BM sabotage. Or kill their silicon supply. Or manipulate prices that they switch production...
In the long run raw material prices usually drop low unless there is a systematic shortage; when the building is done there's almost no consumption except for manufactured goods. On the other hand colony consumes manufactured goods, so prices usually don't collapse completely.