The amount of cargo flowing through the local ports surged last month as a tentative labor agreement reached in late February and operational changes at the harbor eased the gridlock that had gripped the ports for the past several months.

At the Port of Los Angeles, March’s cargo volume rose 17.3 percent over the same month last year, making it the second-busiest month in the port’s history, according to port officials. The port handled 791,863 cargo containers in March, just a few thousand shy of the record 800,063 containers it handled in October 2006.

Imports climbed 32 percent over March 2014, while exports fell 23 percent, likely the result of the continued strength of the U.S. dollar, which has made U.S. products more expensive overseas.

At the neighboring Port of Long Beach, cargo surged 32 percent last month over the same month a year ago. Port terminals there handled 630,084 units in March, making it the busiest month for the port in more than a year. Imports rose 42 percent over last year while exports fell 17 percent.