Trade Accounts Receivable Securitization and Sale Programs (Securitization Activity) (Details 3) - Asset Backed Securitizations [Member] - USD ($) $ in Thousands		12 Months Ended
		Aug. 31, 2017	Aug. 31, 2016	Aug. 31, 2015
Trade Accounts Receivable Securitization and Sale Program [Line Items]
Eligible trade accounts receivable sold for fiscal year		$ 8,878	$ 7,870	$ 7,608
Cash proceeds received for fiscal year	[1]	8,300	7,336	7,175
Pre-tax loss on sale of receivables for fiscal year	[2]	9	5	4
Deferred purchases price receivables as of August 31	[3]	$ 569	$ 527	$ 429

[1] (1) Of this amount, $ 0.1 million , $ 8.4 million and $ 5.9 million , respectively, represented new transfers during fiscal years 2017 , 2016 and 2015 , respectively. The remainder represented proceeds from collections reinvested in revolving-period transfers.

[2] (2) Recorded to other expense within the Consolidated Statements of Operations.

[3] (3) R ecorded initially at fair value as prepaid expenses and other current assets on the Consolidated Balance Sheets and are valued u sing unobservable inputs (Level 3 inputs), primarily discounted cash flows, and due to their credit quality and short-term maturity the fair values approximated book values. The unobservable inputs consist of estimated credit losses and estimated discount rates, which both have an immaterial impact on the fair value calculation s.