Earnings (Loss) Per Share Attributable to CMC (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Aug. 31, 2011

Earnings (Loss) Per Share Attributable to CMC [Abstract]

Reconciliation of the denominators of the earnings (loss) per share

	2011		2010		2009
Shares outstanding for basic earnings (loss) per share		114,995,616		113,524,836		112,391,180
Effect of dilutive securities:
Stock-based incentive/purchase plans		—		—		1,489,195
Shares outstanding for diluted earnings (loss) per share		114,995,616		113,524,836		113,880,375