The AMATS area (click for map) is located in Northeast Ohio and encompasses Summit County, Portage County and Chippewa Township in Wayne County. It contains 16 cities, 17 villages and 28 townships. The area is home to a large number of manufacturing facilities, trucking terminals, two major universities, a regional airport, and a wide variety of historic, cultural and recreational attractions.

The U.S. Census Bureau reported the population of the AMATS area at 704,848 in 2000. The area is a key component of a larger Northeastern Ohio urban complex, which contains the adjacent metropolitan areas of Cleveland, Canton and Youngstown, and is home to over four million people. Because of the proximity of these major urbanized areas, AMATS-area highways carry a large volume of interstate freight traffic. Area freeways and expressways include Interstates 76, 77, 80 (Ohio Turnpike), 271, 277 and 480, portions of US 224 and State Routes 8, 21 and 59. There are approximately 4,160 miles of highway in the area. This includes approximately 134 miles of Interstate, 31 miles of Freeway/Expressway and 558 miles of Arterials. The remainder of the system is made up of collector and local highways.

A total of 713,905 vehicles were registered in the AMATS area in 2004, according to the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles. Of this total, 534,345 vehicles were registered in Summit County, 166,265 in Portage County and 13,295 in Chippewa Township.

According to the 2000 Census, there were a total of 294,886 dwelling units in the AMATS area with 230,880 in Summit County, 60,096 in Portage County and 3,910 in Chippewa Township.

The METRO Regional Transit Authority (METRO RTA) and the Portage Area Regional Transportation Authority (PARTA) are the two public transportation providers serving Summit County and Portage County, respectively.

The AMATS area is served by several major commercial airlines, AirTran, Delta, Northwest, United and US Airways, which fly out of the Akron-Canton Regional Airport located in southeast Summit County. Other area airports include the Akron-Fulton International Airport located in Akron, the Kent State University Airport in Stow and the Portage County Airport located in Shalersville Township.

Railroads play a vital role in transporting raw materials, and finished products in and through the AMATS area. Primary freight railroads servicing the area are Norfolk Southern, CSX Transportation and the Wheeling and Lake Erie Railway.