Amount charged to advertising expense for the period, which are expenses incurred with the objective of increasing revenue for a specified brand, product or product line.

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For an entity that discloses a concentration risk in relation to quantitative amount, which serves as the "benchmark" (or denominator) in the equation, this concept represents the concentration percentage derived from the division.

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Charge to cost of goods sold that represents the reduction of the carrying amount of inventory, generally attributable to obsolescence or market conditions.

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Useful life of long lived, physical assets used in the normal conduct of business and not intended for resale, in 'PnYnMnDTnHnMnS' format, for example, 'P1Y5M13D' represents the reported fact of one year, five months, and thirteen days. Examples include, but not limited to, land, buildings, machinery and equipment, office equipment, furniture and fixtures, and computer equipment.

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Aggregate of: (i) sales discounts given by the entity, including, but not limited to, early payments of accounts due, (ii) the total deduction from sales during the period arising from goods returned by customers (other than under warranty provisions), and (iii) price reductions (allowance, price protection agreements) given by the entity. Discounts, returns and allowances are a deduction from gross revenue in arriving at net revenue.

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Number of Production Facilities Operated

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Percentage of Consolidated Labor Force

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Summary of Significant Accounting Policies - Additional Information (Detail)	12 Months Ended
	May. 31, 2015 USD ($) State Country JointVentures Facility Customer	May. 31, 2014 USD ($)	May. 31, 2013 USD ($)	Jul. 31, 2013
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Lower of cost or market adjustment	$ 1,716,000
Number of manufacturing facilities operated \| Facility	83
Number of States operated \| State	26
Number of Countries operated \| Country	11
Number of joint ventures \| JointVentures	13
Returns and allowances increase (decrease)	$ 626,000
Returns and Allowances	6,393,000
Allowance for doubtful accounts increase (decrease)	42,000
Receivables, allowances	3,085,000	$ 3,043,000
Depreciation Expenses	64,666,000	62,344,000	$ 56,002,000
Advertising Expenses	$ 11,153,000	$ 6,788,000	$ 6,179,000
Building and Improvements \| Minimum
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment, estimated useful life	10 years
Building and Improvements \| Maximum
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment, estimated useful life	40 years
Machinery and Equipment \| Minimum
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment, estimated useful life	3 years
Machinery and Equipment \| Maximum
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Property, plant and equipment, estimated useful life	20 years
Automotive Market \| Net Sales
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Concentration risk percentage	38.00%	36.00%
Foreign Operations
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Percentage of consolidated net assets	14.00%	15.00%
Foreign Operations \| Net Sales
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Concentration risk percentage	6.00%	7.00%
Foreign Operations \| Pre-tax earnings
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Concentration risk percentage	(2.00%)	(2.00%)
Collective Bargaining Agreements
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Percentage of labor force	6.00%
Largest Customer
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Number of customers \| Customer	10
Largest Customer \| Net Sales
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Concentration risk percentage	7.00%
Ten Largest Customers \| Net Sales
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Concentration risk percentage	29.00%
WRC
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Number of manufacturing facilities operated \| Facility	33
Consolidated Entities
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Number of joint ventures \| JointVentures	6
DHybrid Systems Llc \| Joint Venture Transactions
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Percent of controlling interest by the Company	79.59%
Spartan \| Joint Venture Transactions
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Percent of controlling interest by the Company	52.00%
TWB \| Joint Venture Transactions
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Percent of controlling interest by the Company	55.00%			55.00%
Worthington Aritas \| Joint Venture Transactions
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Percent of controlling interest by the Company	75.00%
WEI \| Joint Venture Transactions
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Percent of controlling interest by the Company	75.00%
Worthington Nitin Cylinders \| Joint Venture Transactions
Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Percent of controlling interest by the Company	60.00%	60.00%