Commitments and Contingencies (Details) (USD $)	9 Months Ended		9 Months Ended							0 Months Ended		0 Months Ended
	May 31, 2014	Aug. 31, 2013	May 31, 2014 Corporate [Member]	May 31, 2014 Metals Recycling Business [Member]	May 31, 2014 Auto Parts Business [Member]	May 31, 2014 Steel Manufacturing Business [Member] T	May 31, 2014 Portland Harbor Superfund Site [Member]	Mar. 30, 2012 Portland Harbor Superfund Site [Member] alternatives	May 31, 2014 Other Metals Recycling Business Sites [Member]	Mar. 30, 2012 Minimum [Member] Portland Harbor Superfund Site [Member]	May 31, 2014 Minimum [Member] Portland Harbor Superfund Site [Member] potentially_responsible_party	Mar. 30, 2012 Maximum [Member] Portland Harbor Superfund Site [Member]	Mar. 30, 2012 Lower Willamette Group [Member] Portland Harbor Superfund Site [Member]	Mar. 30, 2012 Potential Responsible Parties [Member] Minimum [Member] Portland Harbor Superfund Site [Member]	Mar. 30, 2012 Potential Responsible Parties [Member] Maximum [Member] Portland Harbor Superfund Site [Member]
Accrual for Environmental Loss Contingencies [Roll Forward]
Beginning balance	$ 49,794,000		$ 500,000	$ 30,520,000	$ 18,774,000		$ 1,000,000		$ 29,000,000
Liabilities Established (Released), Net	382,000		0	8,000	374,000
Payments and Other	(569,000)		(21,000)	(445,000)	(103,000)
Ending balance	49,607,000		479,000	30,083,000	19,045,000	0	1,000,000		29,000,000
Short-Term	1,152,000	754,000	179,000	419,000	554,000
Long-Term	48,455,000	49,040,000	300,000	29,664,000	18,491,000
Number Of Potentially Responsible Parties											80
Site Contingency Period Of Feasibility Study													10 years
Feasibility Study Investigation Costs													100,000,000
Site Contingency Number of Remedial Alternatives								10
Site Contingency Least Costly Remediation Plan														170,000,000	250,000,000
Site Contingency Most Costly Remediation Plan														$ 1,080,000,000	$ 1,760,000,000
Site Contingency, Estimated Time Frame to Remediate										2 years		28 years
Annual production capacity						950,000
Permit Expiration Date						Feb. 01, 2018