THE dry bulk derivatives market has nearly doubled in two years to become twice as large as the underlying physical market on which it is based.

This week’s Lloyd’s List podcast examines this extraordinary and little-known evolution in commodities freight trading underway in the global shipping sector.

John Banaszkiewicz, chair of the Baltic Exchange’s FFA Brokers’ Association and founder of Freight Investor Services, one of the biggest brokers of freight futures, gives an update on this often overlooked trade.

Funds that speculated on freight futures made returns of 100%, he says, as algorithmic and so-called black box or algo-trading are also helping to boost liquidity.

“It’s just like buying stocks and shares,” Banaszkiewicz tells Lloyd’s List.

You won’t find a more comprehensive and easy-to-understand overview of the dry bulk FFAs anywhere else.