U.S. supply chain inflation accelerated in March with U.S. import prices having increased by 6.9% year over year while the underlying figure excluding food and fuels rose by 3.8%. The latter’s price index of 102.9 was the highest since April 2013, confirming the increased inflation rate is not just a pandemic-related basis effect. The fastest rates of inflation have been among commodities and components, which add to rising freight rates within supply chain costs. Import prices for basic chemicals and plastics rose by 3.4% and 7.3% respectively, with the latter’s index reaching the highe...