Income Taxes (Tables)

12 Months Ended

Aug. 31, 2011

Income Taxes [Abstract]

Schedule of Income before Income Tax, Domestic and Foreign [Table Text Block]

Income (loss) from continuing operations before income taxes was as follows for the years ended August 31 (in thousands):

	2011		2010		2009
United States	$	171,329	$	117,104	$	(50,634	)
Foreign	9,476		8,229		3,570
Total	$	180,805	$	125,333	$	(47,064	)

Schedule of Components of Income Tax Expense (Benefit) [Table Text Block]

Income tax expense (benefit) from continuing operations consisted of the following for the years ended August 31 (in thousands):

	2011		2010		2009
Current:
Federal	$	33,499	$	25,187	$	(44,249	)
State	2,583		1,801		(838		)
Foreign	82		2,320		(134		)
Total current tax expense (benefit)	36,164		29,308		(45,221		)
Deferred:
Federal	19,164		10,466		25,536
State	383		812		(886		)
Foreign	1,457		239		656
Total deferred tax expense	21,004		11,517		25,306
Total income tax expense (benefit)	$	57,168	$	40,825	$	(19,915	)

Schedule of Effective Income Tax Rate Reconciliation [Table Text Block]

A reconciliation of the difference between the federal statutory rate and the Company's effective tax rate for the years ended August 31 is as follows:

	2011		2010		2009
Federal statutory rate	35.0	%	35.0	%	(35.0	)%
State taxes, net of credits	0.7		0.7		(8.7	)
Foreign income taxed at different rates	(0.6	)	(0.6	)	(1.4	)
Section 199 deduction	(1.0	)	(2.4	)	3.4
Non-deductible officers’ compensation	0.3		1.0		(2.2	)
Noncontrolling interests	(1.0	)	(1.1	)	(0.6	)
Research and development credits	(0.5	)	—		—
Other	(1.3	)	—		2.2
Effective tax rate	31.6	%	32.6	%	(42.3	)%

Schedule of Deferred Tax Assets and Liabilities [Table Text Block]

Deferred tax assets and liabilities were comprised of the following as of August 31 (in thousands):

	2011			2010
Deferred tax assets:
Environmental liabilities	$	9,727		$	9,341
Employee benefit accruals	12,547			10,067
State income tax and other	2,948			3,297
Net operating loss carryforwards	988			1,107
State credit carryforwards	2,294			2,671
Inventory valuation methods	4,321			4,768
Alternative minimum tax credit carryforwards	—			742
Valuation allowances	(589		)	(855		)
Total deferred tax assets	32,236			31,138
Deferred tax liabilities:
Accelerated depreciation and basis differences	101,457			77,457
Prepaid expense acceleration	2,287			2,064
Translation adjustment	2,086			1,210
Total deferred tax liabilities	105,830			80,731
Net deferred tax liability	$	73,594		$	49,593

Summary of Income Tax Contingencies [Table Text Block]

The following table summarizes the activity related to the Company’s reserve for unrecognized tax benefits, excluding interest and penalties, for the years ended August 31 (in thousands):

	2011			2010			2009
Unrecognized tax benefits, as of the beginning of the year	$	1,631		$	3,372		$	5,761
Additions for tax positions of prior years	—			—			201
Reductions for tax positions of prior years	(75		)	(274		)	(645		)
Settlements with tax authorities	(875		)	(315		)	(1,159		)
Additions for tax positions of the current year	160			—			657
Reductions for lapse of statutes	(538		)	(1,152		)	(1,443		)
Unrecognized tax benefits, as of the end of the year	$	303		$	1,631		$	3,372