For most (if not all) foreign trades the coal arrives via train (in most cases) and is held until the ship can be filled.The ONLY way this particular deal can be anywhere near true is if GLER and company had a storage yard to hold it and then load it on a ship.
Fact: In the U.S. for 2005 Coal was the top commodity shipped over rail (40.7%).
Kentucky has over 2,640 miles of railroad lines. Over 69 million tons of Kentucky coal were transported over these lines in 2005. There are five Class I railroads (CSX Transportation being the largest), one regional railroad, and seven short line railroads that operate totally in Kentucky or originate coal in Kentucky. These railroads, along with privately owned cars of electric power companies, have over 71,380 hopper cars dedicated to the transport of coal.