Canada's largest multi-tenant industrial landlord sees its future growth prospects in e-commerce, according to a report in Bloomberg.

The European Union and Canada signed a far-reaching trade agreement this week that commits them to opening their markets to greater competition, after overcoming a last-minute political obstacle that reflected the growing skepticism toward globalization in much of the developed world.

More than two-thirds of consumers who have ever made a domestic online purchase have also made an online purchase from another country in the past year, according to an annual online shopping survey by Pitney Bowes, an e-commerce technology company. Singapore (89 percent), Australia (86 percent) and Hong Kong (85 percent) have the highest number of cross-border shoppers, while countries like Japan (34 percent) and the U.S. (45 percent) are still growing in cross-border confidence.

First-time exporters in the U.S. understandably find Canada to be an attractive market, but cross-border trade between the two is far from simple.

Results published by the Canadian General Freight Index (CGFI) indicate that the total cost of ground transportation for Canadian shippers increased by just 0.15 percent in July, as compared with June results.

The boom in e-commerce is a global phenomenon, but each country has its own unique requirements for ensuring the smooth flow of shipments to the buyer.