Inflation & Prices
Shipping-Cost Drop a ‘Smoking Gun’ Foretelling Inflation to Cool
- Sea-transport fees’ role as inflation driver under-recognized
- Officials must be held accountable for missing price drivers
Shipping containers are loaded onto trucks at the Port of Boston in Massachusetts.
Photographer: Allison Dinner/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
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The pandemic-era surge in shipping costs was a “smoking gun” that foretold the global inflation spike, and the sharp drop in maritime-freight expenses since peaking last year will contribute to an easing in price pressures, a former International Monetary Fund official said.