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INVENTORIES
12 Months Ended
Aug. 31, 2025
Inventory Disclosure [Abstract]  
INVENTORIES
NOTE 5. INVENTORIES

Most of the Company's inventories are in the form of semi-finished and finished steel products. Under the Company’s vertically integrated business model in the North America Steel Group and Europe Steel Group segments, steel products are sold to external customers in various stages, from semi-finished billets through fabricated steel, so these categories are combined as finished goods.

The components of inventories were as follows:
(in thousands)August 31, 2025August 31, 2024
Raw materials$204,945 $232,982 
Work in process4,165 5,390 
Finished goods725,200 733,383 
Total$934,310 $971,755 

As of August 31, 2025, the inventory valuation reserve was $2.5 million, and primarily related to the North America Steel Group segment. The inventory valuation reserve was $5.1 million and $11.3 million as of August 31, 2024 and 2023, respectively, and primarily impacted the Europe Steel Group segment. The inventory write-downs were recorded in cost of goods sold in the consolidated statements of earnings.