NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Management of West Coast ports pulled back on a threatened Friday morning lockout at two key ports after the union representing dock workers met its demand at the eleventh hour and provided the workers needed to reopen a terminal closed much of the week.

The Pacific Maritime Association, which represents major shipping lines and terminal operators at 29 West Coast ports, had threatened to close the key ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach early Friday unless the union ended what management charged was a union-led slowdown. It said the test would be if the International Longshore and Warehouse Union (ILWU) provided necessary staffing for the Thursday night shift. Late Thursday the PMA said the ILWU had complied with the demand.

"This is a positive sign, and I am hopeful this signals that the ILWU and PMA will be able to work together toward a new coastwide contract that positions our ports for growth in the new century," said a brief statement from PMA CEO Joseph Miniace, in announcing the end of the lockout threat.

The union, which represents 10,500 members at the ports, was not available for comment following the PMA announcement. Earlier, its spokesman, Steve Stallone, has denied any union-led slowdown. The union instead insisted that the lack of workers at the Long Beach terminal operated by Stevedoring Services of America (SSA) was due to the large demand for work at the ports due the peak season.

PMA and SSA dismiss this union explanation, saying that other terminals had enough labor, and pointing out that the ILWU targeted SSA with rallies this week, as labor leaders blamed the nation's largest terminal operator for the trouble in negotiations.

A lockout or strike at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach would have been a serious blow to trade between the United States and Asia. About 56 percent of all cargo through West Coast ports, as well as nearly 70 percent of the higher value goods that come in through containers, pass through those two neighboring ports.

A shutdown at all 29 ports would cause an estimated $1 billion in damage a day to the U.S. economy.

Management has threatened to use a lockout since the spring if the union engaged in a slowdown, which PMA officials have characterized as a "strike with pay."

Thursday's pullback from the brink of a lockout does not end the threat of disruption at West Coast ports. A PMA spokesman said management would continue to monitor how the ILWU fills the necessary positions.

Many observers expect that the Bush administration would step in and order the two sides back to work if a strike or lockout was declared. But Miniace told reporters during a conference call Thursday before the lifting of a lockout threat that he did not expect any immediate federal intervention if there was a work stoppage.