Last month was the Port of Long Beach’s busiest November since 2007, with cargo volume up 2.1 percent over a year ago.

More than 581,500 containers passed through the port last month, although both import and export numbers were down compared to last year. Imports fell 0.9 percent while exports dropped 14.5 percent. The overall numbers were goosed by a 30 percent increase in the number of empty containers moving through the port, officials reported late Tuesday.

Through the first 11 months of this year, total traffic at the port increased 1.7 percent.

Meanwhile, at the neighboring Port of Los Angeles, container volumes dropped 3 percent last month compared to the same period a year earlier, though year-to-date the port’s total volume is up 6.5 percent over last year.

In all, 663,300 containers moved through the L.A. port last month. Imports fell 2.7 percent from the same month a year ago, while exports dropped 16 percent, according to figures released Wednesday.

Port officials said the drop in exports moving through the port is part of a nationwide drop in domestic exports due to a stronger U.S. dollar, which increases the price of U.S. goods and slows demand abroad.