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Fixed Charge Coverage Ratio Minimum

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Carrying value as of the balance sheet date of obligations incurred and payable, pertaining to costs that are statutory in nature, are incurred on contractual obligations, or accumulate over time and for which invoices have not yet been received or will not be rendered. Examples include taxes, interest, rent and utilities.

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Amount of long-term debt before deduction of unamortized discount or premium. Includes, but is not limited to, notes payable, bonds payable, commercial loans, mortgage loans, convertible debt, subordinated debt and other types of debt, with initial maturities beyond one year or the normal operating cycle, if longer.

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Face (par) amount of debt instrument at time of issuance.

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Contractual interest rate for funds borrowed, under the debt agreement.

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Percentage price of original principal amount of debt at which debt can be redeemed by the issuer.

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Fair value amount of debt instrument that was repurchased.

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Period of time between issuance and maturity of debt instrument, in PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents the reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days.

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The amount of debt discount that was originally recognized at the issuance of the instrument that has yet to be amortized.

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Sum of the carrying amounts of deferred costs that are expected to be recognized as a charge against earnings in periods after one year or beyond the normal operating cycle, if longer.

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The total amount of the contingent obligation under letters of credit outstanding as of the reporting date.

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The carrying value as of the balance sheet date of the current and noncurrent portions of long-term obligations drawn from a line of credit, which is a bank's commitment to make loans up to a specific amount. Examples of items that might be included in the application of this element may consist of letters of credit, standby letters of credit, and revolving credit arrangements, under which borrowings can be made up to a maximum amount as of any point in time conditional on satisfaction of specified terms before, as of and after the date of drawdowns on the line. Includes short-term obligations that would normally be classified as current liabilities but for which (a) postbalance sheet date issuance of a long term obligation to refinance the short term obligation on a long term basis, or (b) the enterprise has entered into a financing agreement that clearly permits the enterprise to refinance the short-term obligation on a long term basis and the following conditions are met (1) the agreement does not expire within 1 year and is not cancelable by the lender except for violation of an objectively determinable provision, (2) no violation exists at the BS date, and (3) the lender has entered into the financing agreement is expected to be financially capable of honoring the agreement.

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Average amount borrowed under the credit facility during the period.

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Maximum borrowing capacity under the credit facility without consideration of any current restrictions on the amount that could be borrowed or the amounts currently outstanding under the facility.

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The cash outflow for loan and debt issuance costs.

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Indebtedness divided by net capital.

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The excess of the (1) fair value of consideration transferred to the holders of a security in excess of (2) the carrying amount of the security reported on the registrant's balance sheet, which will be deducted from net earnings to derive net earnings available to common shareholders. This amount is generally an adjustment considered in the computation of earnings per share.

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Debt (Narratives) (Details) (USD $)	0 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
Debt (Narratives) (Details) (USD $)	Feb. 01, 2014	Jan. 25, 2011	Mar. 31, 2015	Mar. 31, 2014	Mar. 31, 2013	Feb. 19, 2015	Oct. 19, 2012
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
New Revolving Credit Facility maximum capacity			$ 20,000,000
Availability under credit facility			75,000,000				75,000,000
Outstanding borrowings			0us-gaap_LineOfCredit
Outstanding letters of credit			6,454,000
Revolving credit facility secured by Non US Subsidiary Stock			100.00%
Fixed charge coverage ratio minimum			1.25cmco_FixedChargeCoverageRatioMinimum
Maximum total leverage ratio			3.50
Annual capital expenditures, excluding capital expenditures for a global ERP system			30,000,000
Payments of financing costs			(1,825,000)us-gaap_PaymentsOfFinancingCosts	0us-gaap_PaymentsOfFinancingCosts	(684,000)us-gaap_PaymentsOfFinancingCosts
Carrying amount of the Company's revolving credit facility			127,270,000us-gaap_DebtInstrumentCarryingAmount	150,000,000us-gaap_DebtInstrumentCarryingAmount
Debt instrument issued at Discount rate percent		98.545%
Repurchase of notes at premium, percent	101.00%cmco_RepurchaseOfNotesAtPremiumPercent
New Senior Subordinated note issued			124,442,000us-gaap_DebtInstrumentFaceAmount
Debt Instrument, Unamortized Discount			558,000
Debt Instrument, Repurchase Amount			156,630,000us-gaap_DebtInstrumentRepurchaseAmount
Debt Instrument, Redemption Price, Percentage			3.90%
Redemption Premium			5,907,000us-gaap_RedemptionPremium
Accrued Liabilities						723,000
Gross balance of deferred costs			1,825,000us-gaap_DeferredCosts	4,133,000us-gaap_DeferredCosts
Accumulated amortization balances			61,000	1,531,000
Capital lease obligations			2,270,000us-gaap_SecuredDebt	3,608,000us-gaap_SecuredDebt
Debt obligations			4,508,000us-gaap_UnsecuredDebt
Amount drawn on unsecured credit lines			0
February 1, 2015
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Repurchase of notes at premium, percent	103.938%
February 1, 2016
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Repurchase of notes at premium, percent	101.969%
February 1, 2017
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Repurchase of notes at premium, percent	100.00%
Minimum
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
New Revolving Credit Facility maximum capacity			150,000,000				100,000,000
Outstanding letters of credit			1,790,000
Capital Lease Obligations
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Term under lease agreement			10 years
Foreign Line of Credit
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Availability under credit facility			8,748,000
Outstanding borrowings			4,609,000
Bank Loan Obligations [Member]
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Carrying amount of the Company's revolving credit facility			125,000,000
New Revolving Credit Facility \| Line of Credit
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Debt Instrument, Unamortized Discount			558,000	1,315,000
New Revolving Credit Facility \| Line of Credit \| LIBOR
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Basis points spread							1.00%
New Revolving Credit Facility \| Line of Credit \| Federal Funds Rate
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Basis points spread							0.50%
New Debt \| Minimum
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Stated interest rate percentage							7.875%
Letter of Credit \| New Debt \| Maximum
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Unused portion of the New Revolving Credit Facility			143,546,000
Standby Letters of Credit
Line of Credit Facility [Line Items]
Outstanding letters of credit			$ 4,664,000