Debt (Details) (USD $)	3 Months Ended
	Nov. 30, 2013	Aug. 31, 2013
Debt [Line Items]
Total debt	$ 75,781,000	$ 692,054,000
Less short-term borrowings and current portion of long-term debt	(21,214,000)	(628,050,000)
Long-term debt	54,567,000	64,004,000
Letters of credit outstanding	21,000,000	14,000,000
Bank Facility [Member]
Debt [Line Items]
Total debt	0	605,000,000
Borrowing capacity	625,000,000
Debt term	5 years
Debt repaid	605,000,000
Weighted average interest rate		3.50%
Bank Facility [Member] | Minimum [Member]
Debt [Line Items]
Fees	0.25%
Bank Facility [Member] | Minimum [Member] | London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member]
Debt [Line Items]
Fees for borrowings	1.25%
Bank Facility [Member] | Maximum [Member]
Debt [Line Items]
Fees	0.40%
Bank Facility [Member] | Maximum [Member] | London Interbank Offered Rate (LIBOR) [Member]
Debt [Line Items]
Fees for borrowings	1.85%
Capital Lease Obligations [Member]
Debt [Line Items]
Total debt	41,868,000	49,628,000
Other Debt [Member]
Debt [Line Items]
Total debt	$ 33,913,000	$ 37,426,000
Weighted average interest rate	5.80%	5.30%
Technology Purchase Obligation [Member]
Debt [Line Items]
Debt term	10 years