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

A tentative agreement between a dockworkers union and a shippers association was announced Wednesday night, averting a Jan. 15 strike deadline that experts said might have been tough to endure. No details about how the proposed pact were announced between the International Longshoremen’s Association union and the United States Maritime Alliance,