Accounting Policies	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2015
Accounting Policies [Abstract]
Accounting Policies	Accounting Policies The interim consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Allegheny Technologies Incorporated and its subsidiaries. Unless the context requires otherwise, “Allegheny Technologies”, “ATI” and “the Company” refer to Allegheny Technologies Incorporated and its subsidiaries. These unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles for interim financial information and with the instructions for Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and note disclosures required by U.S. generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements. In management’s opinion, all adjustments (which include only normal recurring adjustments) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. These unaudited consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company’s 2014 Annual Report on Form 10-K. The results of operations for these interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the operating results for any future period. The December 31, 2014 financial information has been derived from the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements. In 2013, the Company sold or announced closures of certain businesses that are reported as discontinued operations. Remaining closure activities were completed in 2014. Financial results for discontinued operations for the first quarter of 2014 were sales of $5.2 million, pretax losses of $2.8 million, and net assets of $2.9 million as of March 31, 2014. New Accounting Pronouncements Adopted In January 2015, the Company adopted changes issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) to the criteria for reporting discontinued operations. Under the new criteria, a disposal of a component of an entity is required to be reported as discontinued operations only if the disposal represents a strategic shift that has, or will have, a major effect on an entity’s operations and financial results. The criteria that there be no significant continuing involvement in the operations of the component after the disposal transaction has been removed under the new guidance. The new guidance also requires the presentation of the assets and liabilities of a disposal group that includes a discontinued operation for each comparative period and requires additional disclosures about discontinued operations, including the major line items constituting the pretax profit or loss of the discontinued operation, certain cash flow information for the discontinued operation, expanded disclosures about an entity’s significant continuing involvement in a discontinued operation, and disclosures about a disposal of an individually significant component of an entity that does not qualify for discontinued operations presentation. The provisions of the new guidance are effective for all disposals that occur for the Company beginning in fiscal year 2015. The adoption of these changes had no impact on the consolidated financial statements. Pending Accounting Pronouncements In April 2015, the FASB issued new guidance on presentation of debt issuance costs. This guidance requires that debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability be presented in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of that debt liability. The recognition and measurement guidance for debt issuance costs are not affected by the amendments in this guidance. This update will be effective for the Company beginning in fiscal year 2016, with early adoption permitted, and is applied on a retrospective basis. As of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, the Company had $10.6 million and $10.9 million, respectively, of debt issuance costs reported as assets on the consolidated balance sheet that will be reclassified to a reduction of the carrying amount of the debt liability upon the Company’s adoption of this new guidance. In May 2014, the FASB issued changes to revenue recognition with customers. This update provides a five-step analysis of transactions to determine when and how revenue is recognized. An entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. This update will be effective for the Company beginning in fiscal year 2017. This update may be applied retrospectively to each prior reporting period presented or retrospectively with the cumulative effect of initially applying this update recognized at the date of initial application. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the new guidance on its consolidated financial statements.

Accounting Policies

The interim consolidated financial statements include the accounts of Allegheny Technologies Incorporated and its subsidiaries. Unless the context requires otherwise, “Allegheny Technologies”, “ATI” and “the Company” refer to Allegheny Technologies Incorporated and its subsidiaries.

These unaudited consolidated financial statements have been prepared in accordance with U.S. generally accepted accounting principles for interim financial information and with the instructions for Form 10-Q and Article 10 of Regulation S-X. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and note disclosures required by U.S. generally accepted accounting principles for complete financial statements. In management’s opinion, all adjustments (which include only normal recurring adjustments) considered necessary for a fair presentation have been included. These unaudited consolidated financial statements should be read in conjunction with the consolidated financial statements and notes thereto included in the Company’s 2014 Annual Report on Form 10-K. The results of operations for these interim periods are not necessarily indicative of the operating results for any future period. The December 31, 2014 financial information has been derived from the Company’s audited consolidated financial statements.

In 2013, the Company sold or announced closures of certain businesses that are reported as discontinued operations. Remaining closure activities were completed in 2014. Financial results for discontinued operations for the first quarter of 2014 were sales of $5.2 million, pretax losses of $2.8 million, and net assets of $2.9 million as of March 31, 2014.

New Accounting Pronouncements Adopted

In January 2015, the Company adopted changes issued by the Financial Accounting Standards Board (FASB) to the criteria for reporting discontinued operations. Under the new criteria, a disposal of a component of an entity is required to be reported as discontinued operations only if the disposal represents a strategic shift that has, or will have, a major effect on an entity’s operations and financial results. The criteria that there be no significant continuing involvement in the operations of the component after the disposal transaction has been removed under the new guidance. The new guidance also requires the presentation of the assets and liabilities of a disposal group that includes a discontinued operation for each comparative period and requires additional disclosures about discontinued operations, including the major line items constituting the pretax profit or loss of the discontinued operation, certain cash flow information for the discontinued operation, expanded disclosures about an entity’s significant continuing involvement in a discontinued operation, and disclosures about a disposal of an individually significant component of an entity that does not qualify for discontinued operations presentation. The provisions of the new guidance are effective for all disposals that occur for the Company beginning in fiscal year 2015. The adoption of these changes had no impact on the consolidated financial statements.

Pending Accounting Pronouncements

In April 2015, the FASB issued new guidance on presentation of debt issuance costs. This guidance requires that debt issuance costs related to a recognized debt liability be presented in the balance sheet as a direct deduction from the carrying amount of that debt liability. The recognition and measurement guidance for debt issuance costs are not affected by the amendments in this guidance. This update will be effective for the Company beginning in fiscal year 2016, with early adoption permitted, and is applied on a retrospective basis. As of March 31, 2015 and December 31, 2014, the Company had $10.6 million and $10.9 million, respectively, of debt issuance costs reported as assets on the consolidated balance sheet that will be reclassified to a reduction of the carrying amount of the debt liability upon the Company’s adoption of this new guidance.

In May 2014, the FASB issued changes to revenue recognition with customers. This update provides a five-step analysis of transactions to determine when and how revenue is recognized. An entity should recognize revenue to depict the transfer of promised goods or services to customers in an amount that reflects the consideration to which the entity expects to be entitled in exchange for those goods or services. This update will be effective for the Company beginning in fiscal year 2017. This update may be applied retrospectively to each prior reporting period presented or retrospectively with the cumulative effect of initially applying this update recognized at the date of initial application. The Company is currently evaluating the impact of the new guidance on its consolidated financial statements.