A tentative labor agreement involving 29 ports was announced late Feb. 20 involving 20,000 dockworkers. Tensions over their lack of a contract since July had led to chronic cargo backups. But port officials and companies warned it will take time to restore a normal flow of traffic.

"It's not going to be fast," Jon Slangerup, chief executive officer of the Port of Long Beach, said. "It's going to take us a couple of months to dig out, but we were at full strength on Saturday night … and we're going to stay at it until this backlog is cleared."

The port slowdown has rippled through the U.S. economy, including the retail, auto and agriculture sectors.

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