Container traffic at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach in March showed double-digit growth in both imports and exports, port authorities said Wednesday.

Volume at the Port of Long Beach jumped more than 34 percent, or 70,000 20-foot-equivalent-units (TEUs), to 282,440 TEUs, compared to the same month a year ago. Export traffic heading out of Long Beach also saw a steep increase of nearly 14 percent to 118,728 TEUs.

Overall, the port saw 8.5 percent more import traffic to 1,699,384 TEUs, and nearly 16 percent more export traffic (to 643,184) in the first quarter of this year than in the same period in 2005.

The Port of Los Angeles saw even more impressive increases. Imports increased 34 percent to 340,793 TEUs coupled with a 19 percent increase in export container traffic to 128,240. The port handled a total of 670,949 TEUs in the first quarter, putting it more than 27 percent ahead of last year’s pace of 525,019.

According to past reports, the “slow period” is nearing an end and more robust numbers are expected through the holidays, with experts anticipating 2006 will exceed 2005’s record traffic numbers.