They are both true. Timken placed the small sample order, it went unfilled for a while when TPAC released the nature of the order:

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/trans-pacific-t...00937.html

Bill did say in the release is was a sample order and explained why it took so long to fulfill. Timken was them immediately inundated with assholes calling in to verify, criticize, sandbag, etc. the order at which time they realized they never cancelled the order and did so (after the TPAC news release) to stop people from bugging them.