Reconciliation of Numerator and Denominator of the basic and diluted earnings per share computation (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Jul. 31, 2016	Jul. 31, 2015	Jul. 31, 2016	Jul. 31, 2015
Equity [Abstract]
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share, Amount			360	120
Net income (loss)	$ (349)	$ 1,981	$ (2,351)	$ 10,777
Basic weighted average shares	17,614	17,227	17,614	17,220
Effect of dilutive securities:
Stock options	0	19	0	27
Diluted weighted average shares	17,614	17,246	17,614	17,247
Basic earnings (loss) per share	$ (0.02)	$ 0.11	$ (0.13)	$ 0.63
Diluted earnings (loss) per share	$ (0.02)	$ 0.11	$ (0.13)	$ 0.62