Traffic at the Port of Long Beach declined 1.9 percent in March compared with the same month last year, according to figures released Tuesday.

More than 477,000 containers moved through the port in March. Exports were 1.5 percent lower and imports fell 0.7 percent year to year. Empty containers, which were sent overseas to be filled with goods, dropped 5.4 percent.

The slower traffic was due to harsh weather in the Midwest and East Coast as well as some shipping lines suspending services or switching to the nearby Port of Los Angeles.