Spiraling shipping costs and container shortages threaten to delay construction and increase project costs.

Shipping costs to move goods from Asia to the US West Coast were up 190% year on year through December. Costs from China to Europe are up four times in the last eight weeks. More containers are now being returned empty to China rather than wait to load them at US ports because almost 10 times as much can be earned by using them to carry goods from China to the US rather than vice versa.

Port congestion is also contributing to shipping delays. In early February, a record 36 container ships were sitting on anchor outside the port in Los Angeles waiting to unload while another two were waiting at sea for anchorages to open.