Baltic Dry Index (BDI) Baltic dry index, or BDI for short, is a number issued daily by the London-based Baltic Exchange to measure the rates charged for chartering the giant ships that carry major raw materials, i.e. coal, iron ore, crude oil, and grain. Despite of its name’s suggestion, the index is not restricted to Baltic Sea countries. Today’s OEI: the Baltic Dry Index. Baltic Dry isn’t a Latvian deodorant or an Estonian cocktail. Rather, it’s a number issued daily by the London-based Baltic Exchange, which traces its roots to the Virginia and Baltick coffeehouse in London’s financial district in 1744. The Baltic Dry Index measures the price of transporting dry bulks by sea. Indicating a strict demand-and-supply price situation, the lower the cost to move goods by ship, the fewer goods to ship