MEXICO CITY (AP) — The Mexican national truckers' association says highway robberies of freight trucks are "out of control" and calls the nation's roads "a no-man's land."

The National Chamber of Freight Transport says its members have been "seriously affected by an unstoppable wave of robbery taking over the country's roads." The number of such robberies increased by about 60 percent last year and is projected to rise an additional 37 percent in 2017.

The problem is especially prevalent throughout the industrial corridors of Mexico. The chamber says local, state and federal authorities have all been ineffective in stopping the wave of thefts.

On Wednesday the group took out a full-page newspaper advertisement summarizing its report.