ACQUISITIONS - Narrative (Detail) $ / shares in Units, shares in Millions				1 Months Ended	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Feb. 03, 2017 USD ($)	Nov. 30, 2016 USD ($) $ / shares shares	Jul. 27, 2015 USD ($) employee country	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Jun. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Mar. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2014 USD ($)	Dec. 14, 2016 USD ($)	Nov. 30, 2016 € / shares	Nov. 17, 2016 USD ($)	Aug. 01, 2016 USD ($)	May 05, 2016 USD ($)	Oct. 30, 2015 USD ($)	Oct. 08, 2015 USD ($)	Jul. 27, 2015 € / shares	Jun. 17, 2015 USD ($)	Feb. 04, 2015 USD ($)
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Stock used for acquisition													$ 534,679,000	$ 0	$ 0
Stock and cash paid													904,695,000	135,231,000	330,591,000
Income (loss) from operations					$ 62,800,000	$ 120,096,000	$ 133,284,000	$ 142,181,000	$ 151,209,000	$ 152,078,000	$ 155,860,000	$ 148,420,000	458,361,000	607,567,000	$ 527,109,000
Goodwill				$ 2,078,765,000	2,078,765,000				858,532,000				2,078,765,000	858,532,000
Deposit in escrow				744,748,000	744,748,000				$ 202,942,000				744,748,000	$ 202,942,000
Faiveley
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Annual sales of Faiveley			$ 1,200,000,000
Number of employees (more than) | employee			5,700
Number of countries Faiveley operates in | country			24
Percentage of share capital acquired (as a percent)																							51.00%
Purchase price per share (in euros per share) | (per share)		$ 84.77															€ 100						€ 100
Minority interests percentage for delisting of acquiree company (less than)			5.00%
Percentage of voting interests in Faiveley																							49.00%
Business combination, consideration transferred		$ 978,100,000
Stock used for acquisition		$ 534,700,000
Equity interest issued/issuable for acquisition (in shares) | shares		6.3
Stock and cash paid		$ 211,800,000
Debt assumed		409,900,000
Cash and cash equivalents		$ 178,318,000
Number of common shares issued for conversion of one acquiree common share		1.1538
Total purchase price (as a percent)		100.00%
Net acquisition value		$ 1,700,000,000
Revenue of Faiveley				110,800,000
Income (loss) from operations				600,000
Tax benefit				30,600,000
Acquisition related costs													38,900,000
Goodwill		1,188,296,000
Workhorse
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Purchase price																$ 44,291,000
Goodwill																$ 23,052,000
Goodwill deductible for taxes (as a percent)																37.80%
Goodwill tax deductible amount																$ 8,700,000
Acquired intangible assets																$ 20,900,000
Precision Turbo
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Purchase price																		$ 13,846,000
Goodwill																		3,861,000
Goodwill tax deductible amount																		3,900,000
Acquired intangible assets																		$ 5,200,000
Unitrac
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Purchase price																				$ 14,378,000
Goodwill																				1,388,000
Goodwill tax deductible amount																				1,400,000
Acquired intangible assets																				$ 1,230,000
RMS
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Purchase price																					$ 18,710,000
Goodwill																					8,855,000
Goodwill tax deductible amount																					0
Acquired intangible assets																					$ 8,622,000
Track IQ
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Purchase price																						$ 9,312,000
Goodwill																						6,490,000
Goodwill tax deductible amount																						6,500,000
Acquired intangible assets																						$ 3,246,000
RCL
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Purchase price																									$ 78,011,000
Goodwill																									14,787,000
Goodwill tax deductible amount																									14,800
Acquired intangible assets																									$ 40,403,000
Gerken
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Purchase price																			$ 62,847,000
Goodwill																			17,470,000
Goodwill tax deductible amount																			0
Acquired intangible assets																			$ 30,560,000
MTC
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Purchase price																								$ 23,360,000
Goodwill																								13,198,000
Goodwill tax deductible amount																								0
Acquired intangible assets																								$ 7,650,000
Acquisitions other than Faiveley
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Deposit in escrow				42,000,000	42,000,000								42,000,000
Recent Acquisitions
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Goodwill				1,277,400,000	1,277,400,000								1,277,400,000
Goodwill and other intangible assets				1,985,600,000	1,985,600,000								1,985,600,000
Acquired intangible assets				708,200,000	708,200,000								708,200,000
Recent Acquisitions | Intellectual Property
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquired intangible assets				5,000,000	5,000,000								5,000,000
Recent Acquisitions | Customer Relationships
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquired intangible assets				345,100,000	345,100,000								$ 345,100,000
Average useful life, years													20 years
Recent Acquisitions | Trade Names
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquired intangible assets				353,100,000	353,100,000								$ 353,100,000
Recent Acquisitions | Noncompete Agreements
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquired intangible assets				2,000,000	2,000,000								$ 2,000,000
Average useful life, years													5 years
Recent Acquisitions | Order or Production Backlog
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Acquired intangible assets				1,800,000	1,800,000								$ 1,800,000
Senior Notes | Faiveley
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Long-term debt				$ 750,000,000	$ 750,000,000								$ 750,000,000
Minimum | Faiveley
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Percentage of business acquisition consideration payable in cash																							25.00%
Maximum | Faiveley
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Percentage of business acquisition consideration payable in cash																							45.00%
Subsequent Event | Faiveley
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Percentage of voting interests in Faiveley	27.50%
Stock used for acquisition	$ 25,200,000
Stock and cash paid	$ 411,800,000
Current Liabilities | Faiveley
Business Acquisition [Line Items]
Accrued compensation assumed within other liabilities		$ 25,900,000