CONDENSED CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF EARNINGS (UNAUDITED) - USD ($) $ in Thousands		3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
		May 31, 2021	May 31, 2020	May 31, 2021	May 31, 2020
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net sales		$ 1,845,041	$ 1,341,683	$ 4,699,114	$ 4,067,354
Costs and expenses:
Cost of goods sold		1,533,768	1,116,353	3,936,930	3,385,963
Selling, general and administrative expenses		130,448	115,965	359,492	342,502
Loss on debt extinguishment		0	0	16,841	0
Interest expense		11,965	15,409	40,245	47,875
Asset impairments		277	5,983	4,345	6,513
Total costs and expenses		1,676,458	1,253,710	4,357,853	3,782,853
Earnings from continuing operations before income taxes		168,583	87,973	341,261	284,501
Income taxes		38,175	23,804	80,709	73,981
Earnings from continuing operations		130,408	64,169	260,552	210,520
Earnings from discontinued operations before income taxes		0	745	0	1,941
Income taxes		0	180	0	581
Earnings from discontinued operations		0	565	0	1,360
Net earnings		$ 130,408	$ 64,734	$ 260,552	$ 211,880
Basic earnings per share:
Earnings from continuing operations (in USD per share)	[1]	$ 1.08	$ 0.54	$ 2.17	$ 1.77
Earnings (loss) from discontinued operations (in USD per share)	[1]	0	0	0	0.01
Net earnings (in USD per share)	[1]	1.08	0.54	2.17	1.78
Diluted earnings per share:
Earnings from continuing operations (in USD per share)	[1]	1.07	0.53	2.14	1.75
Earnings (loss) from discontinued operations (in USD per share)	[1]	0	0	0	0.01
Net earnings (in USD per share)	[1]	$ 1.07	$ 0.54	$ 2.14	$ 1.76
Average basic shares outstanding (shares)		120,613,652	119,192,962	120,241,579	118,828,870
Average diluted shares outstanding (shares)		122,193,655	120,278,741	121,852,144	120,277,737

[1] *Earnings Per Share ("EPS") is calculated independently for each component and may not sum to Net EPS due to rounding.