A Shanghai neighborhood under lockdown last month. Lockdowns in China risk causing further product shortages in the United States.Credit…Qilai Shen for The New York TimesPrice pressures for household goods, apparel, vehicles and other items showed signs of cooling in March, as companies built up extra inventories of products in storerooms and warehouses and shortages abated.The monthly price increase in a basket of core goods has leveled off, decelerating from a growth rate of 1 percent in recent months to a 0.4 percent decline in March. The price of used cars and trucks fell 3.8 percent in March from the month before, and the price of new cars and trucks grew 0.2 percent. The price of household furnishings and supplies rose 1 percent in March, the eighth consecutive monthly increase in that category.But the disruptions that have plagued supply chains continue to show signs of worsening, suggesting that American consumers may see more shortages of products like electronics — and potentially renewed price increases — in the months to come.In particul …
