After two months of drops in container cargo volume, November was a banner month for the Port of Los Angeles, officials with the port reported Wednesday.

Container cargo volumes handled by the port last month jumped 7 percent over the same period last year to nearly 710,000 containers. That total includes imported and exported cargo as well as empty containers sent back to overseas ports.

The number of imported containers rose 7.6 percent to more than 358,400, according to officials, while exported cargo fell 5.7 percent to about 142,000 containers. The number of empty containers grew 16.5 percent.

Several months of little or no growth in cargo volumes earlier this year have put the port behind last year’s activity. Over the 11 months, container cargo volumes have dropped 1.9 percent to more than 7.5 million containers compared to the same period last year, officials said.

In contrast, the Port of Long Beach reported last week that its 11-month container volume is ahead of the year-ago period by 5.5 percent, and port officials said volume could exceed 7 million containers this year. Port officials also said container volume last month jumped 6.6 percent over a year ago, making it the port’s second busiest November.