The real reason why Trump wants Greenland

This is what a container shipping schedule looks like:

We currently have stuff on the boat Camellia. Here she is, in all her glory:

Last week, we loaded a 40-ft container full of PET cups onto the boat at the Port of Ningbo— just beating the Lunar New Year, when business in China grinds to a halt.

In a couple of weeks Camellia will travel through the Panama Canal, make its way up the East Coast and dock in Norfolk, Virginia, where our container will be unloaded.

Most major shipping lines have dashboards where you can track your ship’s progress. As of this writing, Camellia is leaving a port call at Busan, South Korea.

Its exact position, though, is unknown to me: even with the thousands of satellites that launch into orbit each year, there are still sizable gaps in coverage as a container ship crosses the Pacific. It’s hard to comprehend just how massive the Pacific Ocean is.

Which brings us to Greenland…

Late in the first Trump term, the president threw out the idea of buying Greenland. Mostly, it resulted in memes of a Trump Casino stuck in the middle of a fishing village. One was posted by Trump himself:?

But now 6 years later, he’s decided to double-down on the idea … and it’s being taken seriously.

Speculating on the political realities of the US successfully buying Greenland from Denmark is far beyond the scope of this increasingly niche restaurant/supply-chain newsletter. (I’m not even sure how one buys a territory in 2025. Do you pay in gold? Precious jewels?)

It does seem clear, though, that this chatter has rattled the Danes and turbocharged the Greenland independence movement.?And even if Greenland doesn’t end up a US territory, an independent Greenland could end up leaning heavily on the US as a supporter and patron.?

This, in turn, could open up investment in mining Greenland, which possesses large deposits of rare earth minerals like lithium, zirconium, and niobium. All of these materials are useful if you’re building a generator or an electric car.

But perhaps most intriguing is Greenland’s geographic position in the world.

Fair warning – if you’re used to viewing the world like a map in a 3rd-grade classroom, this may break your brain a bit…

This is a map of Earth, with the North Pole centered. The red line is the Northwest Passage. Traversing it was an obsession for generations of European explorers. (It was also a popular way for them to die.)

As ice coverage in the Arctic has decreased, the Northwest Passage has started to become increasingly passable. Within the last couple of decades, we’ve started to see mega container ships — similar to Camellia — make the journey.

It’s not a particularly fun slog: Only ice strengthened vessels can make the trip, and thick floes, fog, and extreme cold can slow progress.

But as ice patterns continue to change, Greenland’s role as the link between the Pacific and the North Atlantic could be of massive supply-chain significance.

Why? Theoretically, the Northwest Passage would cut the time it takes to transport goods from Asia to the US East Coast by 15 days. (And vice versa.) That would mean my container would get here on Feb. 9 instead of Feb. 24.

Ships bound from LA to Rotterdam could also utilize the Passage and shave days off what’s currently a long trip through the Panama Canal.

Time is money. Getting your goods 15 days quicker means you’re quicker to market, and quicker to get paid.?

For an economy that operates on speed, it’s hard to understate how important this is when multiplied across hundreds of billions of dollars worth of goods.

Plus, these ships are large. If you were to stand Camellia from end-to-end, it would be taller than the Chrysler Building. Shorter routes burn less fuel, which would significantly reduce the cost of shipping goods, thereby increasing demand even more.

This is all still years away. But: Greenland is increasingly looking like a key point on a Polar Silk Road… linking the world?and fundamentally changing the great game of international trade.

PS: We provide supply chain consulting services for restaurant chains with a focus on comprehensive inventory planning … so you’re never waiting for a delayed shipment from overseas. Respond to this email to learn more.