Baltic Exchange
The Baltic Exchange is the London shipping market that traces its origins to 1744, when the Virginia and Baltick Coffee House on Threadneedle Street took its name from merchants' growing trade with the Baltic.
What happened and why it matters
The Baltic Exchange became the place where ship space was bought and sold, and its daily freight indices still help price bulk shipping worldwide. Merchants and ship captains met at the coffee house to match cargoes with available vessels, shipbroking grew out of those meetings, and a committee formed in 1823 to regulate trading. Today a panel of shipbrokers submits daily rate assessments that the Exchange turns into indices used to settle freight derivatives. Container and truck markets follow the same idea, with spot and contract rates benchmarked against published indices that shippers watch before signing contracts.
Related events
Sources
- Baltic Exchange timeline: 1744 balticexchange.com
- Baltic Exchange en.wikipedia.org