Automation was at the center of a long-running labor dispute that threatened to close East and Gulf Coast ports.

Dockworkers represented by the International Longshoremen’s Association negotiated to avoid a second port strike in a matter of months.

Dockworkers tentatively agree to a new deal, preventing a potential port strike that may have snarled supply chains, created shortages and inflation.

The longshoreman’s union was threatening a work stoppage that could have frozen East and Gulf Coast ports days before President-elect Trump took office.

The union representing 45,000 dock workers on the U.S. East and Gulf Coasts and their employers on Wednesday said they reached a tentative deal on a new six-year contract, averting further strikes that could have snarled supply chains and taken a toll on the U.

The United States Maritime Alliance and the International Longshoremen's Association reached a deal on a contract Wednesday night, avoiding a strike that could have closed ports up and down the East Coast and crippled the U.

An agreement on automation and job preservation was crucial to the six-year agreement between the union and management at major East and Gulf Coast ports.