Each year, company X signs a contract with shipping firm Y, stating that shipping firm Y will do all the company's international shipping. Shipping firm Y has a policy called "natural increases," which raises the price for the service that it provides to company X each year by an inflation-commensurate percentage of the previous year's shipping rates. This new price then becomes the baseline for the next year's increases; this policy is intended to let shipping firm Y make profits that keep pace with inflation.
Which of the following statements, if true, is the best basis for a criticism of "natural increases" as an economically sound practice for company X as it exists as part of the international shipping contract?