PORT OF NEW YORK/NEW JERSEY- Industrial real estate specialists say the region avoided a sharp curve heading into the end of the year, even if the fiscal “cliff” still looms. On Friday afternoon, a dock workers' planned strike that would have shut down 14 East Coast and Gulf ports was averted with a last-minute extension of talks.

The International Longshoremen's Association and the United States Maritime Alliance agreed to take until Jan. 28 to resolve their differences over a new contract, instead of union members walking out on Sunday, just before the federal “fiscal cliff” is slated to occur unless politicians hammer out a last-minute deal.

Many believe the U.S. dock workers' union could still strike, and predict that would rain hurt on struggling retailers and manufacturing in the eastern half of the country.