After a slowdown last year and shrinking cargo numbers over the past several months, the Port of Long Beach reported solid numbers for March, with big gains in imports and exports.

Overall port traffic was up 12 percent over the same period last year with nearly 462,000 cargo containers moving through the port, compared to about 412,000 last March

Imports drove cargo growth, with an 18 percent bump over last March as shipments poured in from Asian factories that were shut down for a week in February for the lunar new year.

Exports, which showed year-over-year declines in each of the past seven months, were up 10 percent to 144,850 cargo containers.

Despite March’s strong numbers, a weak January and February mean the port handled about 3 percent less cargo in the first quarter than it did last year.