The oldest commodity exchange in the world, the Chicago Board of Trade, was founded in 1848. This exchange deals mainly in metals and agricultural commodities such as corn, ethanol, gold, oats, rice, silver, soybeans and wheat. In 2007, the Chicago Board of Trade merged with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.

The Chicago Mercantile Exchange was founded in 1898 as an agricultural exchange, also known as the Chicago Butter and Egg Exchange. Today, CME is one of the largest exchanges in the world, offering trading in commodities as well as other derivatives such as currencies.

The New York Chamber of Commerce was established in 1870. In 2004, it was merged with the Coffee, Sugar and Cocoa Exchange (CSCE). Today, it mainly offers trade in commodities such as cocoa, coffee, cotton, sugar, and orange juice. It also offers currency and index trading services.

The New York Mercantile Exchange was founded in 1872 and was engaged in the supply of consumer goods. In 1994, it was merged with the Commodity Exchange to create the largest commodity exchange at the time. As a result of the 2008 global financial crisis, it merged again with the CME Group of Chicago. For commodity traders outside the US, the main commodity exchanges are the London Metal Exchange and the Tokyo Mercantile Exchange.