Baltic Exchange CEO Mark Jackson joined industry leaders at the SGX Commodities Forum on 29 September at the Royal Automobile Club in London, taking part in the FFA Freight Panel alongside John Banaszkiewicz of Freight Investor Services, Bilal Muftuoglu of Howe Robinson Partners and Alexis Ellender of Kpler. The session was moderated by Holly Birkett of TradeWinds.

The panel examined the challenges facing freight markets amid geopolitical disruption, changing trade routes and increasingly complex supply chains. Mark Jackson and fellow panellists discussed the importance of protecting landed cargo margins in a volatile market and the growing role of freight derivatives in managing risk. The discussion also considered how freight is increasingly being viewed not simply as a cost of moving cargo, but as a strategic trading and risk management tool.

The wider forum was well attended, with a near-full house reflecting strong market interest in the challenges and opportunities facing commodity markets. It brought together traders, producers, consumers, brokers, analysts, investors and risk managers to discuss the forces reshaping global commodity markets. Speakers addressed geopolitical fragmentation and shifting trade flows, developments in dry bulk freight, changing iron ore and steel demand, decarbonisation and the evolving coking coal market. The event concluded with a networking reception, giving the Baltic an opportunity to connect with market participants and industry partners in London and continue conversations around the outlook for global commodities and freight.