Basis of Financial Statement Presentation	9 Months Ended
Sep. 30, 2012
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Basis of Financial Statement Presentation	Basis of Financial Statement Presentation The accompanying unaudited interim consolidated financial statements of Alamo Group Inc. and its subsidiaries (the “Company”) have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulations S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. Operating results for the periods presented are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2012. The balance sheet at December 31, 2011, has been derived from the audited financial statements at that date but does not include all of the information and footnotes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements. For further information, refer to the consolidated financial statements and footnotes thereto included in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011. In 2011, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2011-05, Presentation of Comprehensive Income (ASU 2011-05), which eliminates the option to present components of other comprehensive income (OCI) as part of the statement of changes in stockholders' equity. The amendments in this standard require that all non-owner changes in stockholders' equity be presented either in a single continuous statement of comprehensive income or in two separate but consecutive statements. Subsequently, in December 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-12, Deferral of the Effective Date for Amendments to the Presentation of Reclassifications of Items Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (ASU 2011-12), which indefinitely defers the requirement in ASU 2011-05 to present on the face of the financial statements reclassification adjustments for items that are reclassified from OCI to net income in the statement(s) where the components of net income and the components of OCI are presented. The Company has provided the required statements of comprehensive income for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011. In 2011, the FASB issued a revised accounting standard, which is intended to reduce the cost and complexity of the annual goodwill impairment test by providing entities an option to perform a “qualitative” assessment to determine whether further impairment testing is necessary. Specifically, an entity has the option to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is necessary to perform the current two-step test. If an entity believes, as a result of its qualitative assessment, that it is more-likely-than-not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, the quantitative impairment test is required. Otherwise, no further testing is required. This standard was effective for annual and interim goodwill impairment tests performed for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2011. The Company adopted this standard in the fourth quarter of 2011. In 2011, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued a new accounting standard update, which amends the fair value measurement guidance and includes some enhanced disclosure requirements. The most significant change in disclosures is an expansion of the information required for Level 3 measurements based on unobservable inputs. The standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2011. We adopted this standard in the first quarter of 2012 and did not have a material impact on our financial statements and disclosures.

Basis of Financial Statement Presentation

The accompanying unaudited interim consolidated financial statements of Alamo Group Inc. and its subsidiaries (the “Company”) have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles (“GAAP”) for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulations S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements. In the opinion of management, all adjustments (consisting of normal recurring accruals) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. Operating results for the periods presented are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the year ending December 31, 2012. The balance sheet at December 31, 2011, has been derived from the audited financial statements at that date but does not include all of the information and footnotes required by U.S. GAAP for complete financial statements. For further information, refer to the consolidated financial statements and footnotes thereto included in the Company’s annual report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2011.

In 2011, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2011-05, Presentation of Comprehensive Income (ASU 2011-05), which eliminates the option to present components of other comprehensive income (OCI) as part of the statement of changes in stockholders' equity. The amendments in this standard require that all non-owner changes in stockholders' equity be presented either in a single continuous statement of comprehensive income or in two separate but consecutive statements. Subsequently, in December 2011, the FASB issued ASU 2011-12, Deferral of the Effective Date for Amendments to the Presentation of Reclassifications of Items Out of Accumulated Other Comprehensive Income (ASU 2011-12), which indefinitely defers the requirement in ASU 2011-05 to present on the face of the financial statements reclassification adjustments for items that are reclassified from OCI to net income in the statement(s) where the components of net income and the components of OCI are presented. The Company has provided the required statements of comprehensive income for the three and nine months ended September 30, 2012 and 2011.

In 2011, the FASB issued a revised accounting standard, which is intended to reduce the cost and complexity of the annual goodwill impairment test by providing entities an option to perform a “qualitative” assessment to determine whether further impairment testing is necessary. Specifically, an entity has the option to first assess qualitative factors to determine whether it is necessary to perform the current two-step test. If an entity believes, as a result of its qualitative assessment, that it is more-likely-than-not that the fair value of a reporting unit is less than its carrying amount, the quantitative impairment test is required. Otherwise, no further testing is required. This standard was effective for annual and interim goodwill impairment tests performed for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2011. The Company adopted this standard in the fourth quarter of 2011.

In 2011, the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) issued a new accounting standard update, which amends the fair value measurement guidance and includes some enhanced disclosure requirements. The most significant change in disclosures is an expansion of the information required for Level 3 measurements based on unobservable inputs. The standard is effective for fiscal years beginning after December 15, 2011. We adopted this standard in the first quarter of 2012 and did not have a material impact on our financial statements and disclosures.