Trade Accounts Receivable Securitization and Sale Programs - Additional Information (Detail) (USD $)	12 Months Ended			0 Months Ended	12 Months Ended									12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended
	Aug. 31, 2014 Trade Accounts Receivable Factoring Agreement	Aug. 31, 2013 Trade Accounts Receivable Factoring Agreement	Aug. 31, 2012 Trade Accounts Receivable Factoring Agreement	Mar. 19, 2014 Trade Accounts Receivable Sale Programs	Aug. 31, 2014 Trade Accounts Receivable Sale Programs	Aug. 31, 2013 Trade Accounts Receivable Sale Programs	Aug. 31, 2012 Trade Accounts Receivable Sale Programs	Aug. 31, 2014 Asset-Backed Securitization Programs	Aug. 31, 2013 Asset-Backed Securitization Programs	Aug. 31, 2012 Asset-Backed Securitization Programs	Aug. 31, 2014 North American Asset-Backed Securitization Program	Nov. 30, 2013 North American Asset-Backed Securitization Program	Aug. 31, 2013 North American Asset-Backed Securitization Program	Aug. 31, 2014 Foreign Asset-Backed Securitization Program	Aug. 31, 2013 Foreign Asset-Backed Securitization Program	Aug. 31, 2014 350.0 Million Dollar Trade Accounts Receivable Sale Program Trade Accounts Receivable Sale Programs	Nov. 30, 2013 350.0 Million Dollar Trade Accounts Receivable Sale Program Trade Accounts Receivable Sale Programs	Aug. 31, 2014 350.0 Million Dollar Trade Accounts Receivable Sale Program Trade Accounts Receivable Sale Programs Before amendment	Aug. 31, 2014 350.0 Million Dollar Trade Accounts Receivable Sale Program Trade Accounts Receivable Sale Programs After amendment	Aug. 31, 2014 150.0 Million Dollar Trade Accounts Receivable Sale Program Trade Accounts Receivable Sale Programs	Feb. 28, 2014 150.0 Million Dollar Trade Accounts Receivable Sale Program Trade Accounts Receivable Sale Programs	Aug. 31, 2014 100.0 Million Dollar Trade Accounts Receivable Sale Program Trade Accounts Receivable Sale Programs	Nov. 30, 2013 100.0 Million Dollar Trade Accounts Receivable Sale Program Trade Accounts Receivable Sale Programs	Aug. 31, 2014 200.0 Million Dollar Trade Accounts Receivable Sale Program Trade Accounts Receivable Sale Programs Before amendment	Aug. 31, 2014 200.0 Million Dollar Trade Accounts Receivable Sale Program Trade Accounts Receivable Sale Programs After amendment	Mar. 19, 2014 40.0 Million Dollar Trade Accounts Receivable Sale Program Trade Accounts Receivable Sale Programs
Trade Accounts Receivable Securitization and Sale Program [Line Items]
Percentage of trade accounts receivable sold to conduits by special purpose entities								100.00%
Trade accounts receivable sale agreement expiration date	Sep. 30, 2014										Oct. 20, 2017			May 15, 2015		Nov. 28, 2014				Aug. 31, 2015		Nov. 01, 2014
Maximum net cash proceeds available at any one time under asset-backed securitization program and sales program												$ 200,000,000	$ 300,000,000	$ 75,000,000	$ 200,000,000		$ 350,000,000	$ 150,000,000	$ 350,000,000		$ 150,000,000		$ 100,000,000	$ 200,000,000	$ 0	$ 40,000,000
Trade accounts receivable sold	1,100,000	31,200,000	76,000,000		1,900,000,000	2,400,000,000	2,100,000,000	8,000,000,000	9,000,000,000	8,400,000,000
Cash proceeds for the sale of trade accounts receivable								7,400,000,000	8,500,000,000	8,000,000,000
Cash proceeds from new transfers	1,100,000	31,200,000	76,000,000		1,900,000,000	2,400,000,000	2,100,000,000	4,000,000	54,200,000	0
Deferred purchases price receivable								513,000,000	541,200,000	477,500,000
Pretax losses on sale of trade accounts receivable								$ 3,600,000	$ 4,300,000	$ 5,600,000
Minimum number of days notice required to cancel receivable sale agreements																						15 days
Agreement extension period																						365 days
Agreement extension date																						Nov. 01, 2018
Minimum number of days notice required to not automatically extend receivable sale agreements																						30 days
Trade accounts receivable securitization and sale program termination date				Mar. 19, 2014