U.S. Freight Cost Blowout May Mean Little Inflation Relief Soon

Getting goods to market in the U.S. is becoming costlier by the month and that suggests American shoppers will find little relief from high inflation any time soon.

The costs of transportation and warehousing goods for final demand climbed another 1.4% in January from a month earlier, the government’s latest Producer Price Index showed. Compared with a year ago, the Labor Department’s gauge was up a whopping 16%, the largest annual advance in data back to 2009.