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INVENTORIES, NET | 12 Months Ended
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Aug. 31, 2016
Inventory Disclosure [Abstract] |
INVENTORIES, NET | NOTE 6. INVENTORIES, NET At August 31, 2016, inventories were stated at the lower of cost or net realizable value. At August 31, 2015, inventories were stated at the lower of cost or market. See Note 2, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, for further discussion of the adoption of the new accounting pronouncement. Effective September 1, 2015, the Company elected to change its accounting method for valuing all of its inventories that used the LIFO method to either the weighted average or specific identification methods. The Company applied this change in accounting principle retrospectively to all prior periods presented. See Note 2, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, for further disclosures regarding this change in accounting principle. Additionally, effective September 1, 2015, the Company elected to change its accounting method for valuing all of its inventories in its International Marketing and Distribution segment, except for its steel trading division headquartered in the U.S., from the FIFO method to the specification identification method. This change in accounting principle was not material in all prior periods, and thus was not applied retrospectively. The change did not have a material impact on our consolidated financial statements as of and for the year ended August 31, 2016. See Note 2, Summary of Significant Accounting Policies, for further disclosures regarding this change in accounting principle. The Company determines the inventory cost for its International Mill segment using the weighted average cost method. At August 31, 2016, 60% of the Company's total net inventories were valued using the weighted average cost method, and 40% of the Company's total net inventories were valued using the specification identification method. The majority of the Company's inventories are in the form of semi-finished and finished goods. The Company’s business model, with the exception of the International Marketing and Distribution segment, is such that products are sold to external customers in various stages, from semi-finished billets through fabricated steel, leading these categories to be combined. Inventories in the International Marketing and Distribution segment are sold as finished goods. As such, work in process inventories were not material at August 31, 2016 and August 31, 2015. At August 31, 2016 and August 31, 2015, $77.9 million and $61.5 million, respectively, of the Company's inventories were in the form of raw materials. Inventory write-downs were $15.6 million, $37.7 million, and $5.0 million for the years ended August 31, 2016, 2015, and 2014, respectively.

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- Definition The entire disclosure for inventory. Includes, but is not limited to, the basis of stating inventory, the method of determining inventory cost, the classes of inventory, and the nature of the cost elements included in inventory. + References Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 210 -SubTopic 10 -Section S99 -Paragraph 1 -Subparagraph (SX 210.5-02.6) -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6877327&loc=d3e13212-122682 Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef -Publisher FASB -Name Accounting Standards Codification -Topic 210 -SubTopic 10 -Section 50 -Paragraph 1 -URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6361739&loc=d3e7789-107766 + Details
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