Retailers and manufacturers avoided the worst when dockworkers agreed Friday to continue contract talks and keep major U.S. ports open. The next five weeks will determine whether a strike can be ruled out completely.

The International Longshoremen's Association and the U.S. Maritime Alliance, representing container carriers, struck a tentative agreement on a royalty payment for workers that had been a sticking point in negotiations, federal mediators said yesterday. The two sides will push back a deadline for reaching an overall contract from midnight tonight until Feb. 6.

While the extension averts a strike that would have halted the flow of goods through ports responsible for about 45 percent of U.S. commerce, it didn't guarantee supply-chain stability. Retailers including Home Depot Inc. and Lowe's Cos. rely on the ports, stretching from Maine to Texas, to deliver supplies for the lucrative home and garden season starting in April.