In order to remain cost effective, ocean carriers have increased the size of their vessels. Current sizes are well beyond Panamax (the maximum size of a ship to pass through the Panama Canal). The largest vessels are over 45 meters long and 18 meters deep with the capacity to carry over 10,000 TEUs (twenty-foot equivalent unit, the standard size of a container). The introduction of these giants has consequences for shipping routes, especially the ones dependent on the Panama Canal. Rather than using the Panama Canal, ships carrying goods from Asia to the East Coast of the United States increasingly call at the West Coast ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach after which the goods are transported by double-stacked trains to Chicago from where they are finally moved to the East Coast. In order to regain their function as global hub, the Panamese government decided to upgrade the Canal in 2007 (expected completion in 2014).