Imports at the Port of Los Angeles last month was up 5 percent over the same period last year, while the overall number of containers moved remained flat, port officials said Thursday.

As retailers prepare for consumer needs during the holiday season, we're encouraged to see import volumes increase, Port of Los Angeles Executive Director Gene Seroka said. We are prepared along with our supply chain stakeholders to handle cargo with speed, efficiency and first-class service as we kick off our traditional busy season.

The port saw an overall 1.6 percent drop in activity, which port officials blamed on fewer empty containers coming through. Despite July's overall declines, the port still moved 4.75 percent more cargo in the first seven months of the year than the same stretch last year, with the port logging 4,821,467 Twenty-Foot Equivalent Units, or TEUs, so far in 2016.

The Los Angeles port moved a total of 687,891 TEUs in July. That includes 368,696 TEUs of imports, which represents a 5.15 percent growth over last year. Exports fell 2.87 percent to 132,490 TEUs, while empty containers was down 11.9 percent.