| **Segment Reporting (Tables)**                                              | 12 Months Ended                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |
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| **Segment Reporting [Abstract]**                                            |                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                     |
| Revenue from External Customers by Products and Services [Table Text Block] | Sales and revenues to external customers classified by significant products and services for the years ended October 31, 2014, 2013, and 2012 were as follows: (in millions)2014 2013 2012Sales and revenues:     Trucks$7,137 $6,738 $8,705Parts2,424 2,906 2,886Engine1,092 973 936Financial Services153 158 168                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                            |
| Schedule of selected financial information, by segment                      | The following tables present selected financial information for our reporting segments:(in millions)North America Truck North America Parts Global Operations FinancialServices(A) CorporateandEliminations TotalYear ended October 31, 2014           External sales and revenues, net$6,660 $2,471 $1,522 $153 $— $10,806Intersegment sales and revenues420 46 35 79 (580) —Total sales and revenues, net$7,080 $2,517 $1,557 $232 $(580) $10,806Income (loss) from continuing operations attributable to NIC, net of tax$(408) $500 $(218) $97 $(593) $(622)Income tax expense— — — — (26) (26)Segment profit (loss)$(408) $500 $(218) $97 $(567) $(596)Depreciation and amortization$212 $15 $32 $46 $27 $332Interest expense— — — 71 243 314Equity in income (loss) of non-consolidated affiliates5 4 — — — 9Capital expenditures(B)65 6 8 1 8 88(in millions)North America Truck North America Parts Global Operations FinancialServices(A) CorporateandEliminations TotalYear ended October 31, 2013           External sales and revenues, net$6,312 $2,558 $1,747 $158 $— $10,775Intersegment sales and revenues486 57 78 75 (696) —Total sales and revenues, net$6,798 $2,615 $1,825 $233 $(696) $10,775Income (loss) from continuing operations attributable to NIC, net of tax$(902) $476 $(6) $81 $(506) $(857)Income tax benefit— — — — 171 171Segment profit (loss)$(902) $476 $(6) $81 $(677) $(1,028)Depreciation and amortization$305 $17 $32 $40 $23 $417Interest expense— — — 70 251 321Equity in income (loss) of non-consolidated affiliates10 6 (5) — — 11Capital expenditures(B)142 2 9 2 12 167(in millions)North America Truck North America Parts Global Operations FinancialServices(A) CorporateandEliminations TotalYear ended October 31, 2012           External sales and revenues, net$7,946 $2,497 $2,084 $168 $— $12,695Intersegment sales and revenues442 124 126 91 (783) —Total sales and revenues, net$8,388 $2,621 $2,210 $259 $(783) $12,695Income (loss) from continuing operations attributable to NIC, net of tax$(736) $343 $(168) $91 $(2,469) $(2,939)Income tax expense— — — — (1,780) (1,780)Segment profit (loss)$(736) $343 $(168) $91 $(689) $(1,159)Depreciation and amortization$216 $16 $36 $33 $22 $323Interest expense— — — 88 171 259Equity in income (loss) of non-consolidated affiliates(1) 5 (33) — — (29)Capital expenditures(B)173 21 50 3 62 309(in millions)North America Truck North America Parts Global Operations FinancialServices CorporateandEliminations TotalSegment assets, as of:           October 31, 2014$2,145 $682 $749 $2,598 $1,269 $7,443October 31, 20132,250 716 1,162 2,355 1,832 8,315_________________________(A)Total sales and revenues in the Financial Services segment include interest revenues of $170 million, $181 million, and $254 million for 2014, 2013, 2012, respectively.(B)Exclusive of purchases of equipment leased to others. |
| Reconciliation of Assets from Segment to Consolidated [Table Text Block]    | nformation concerning principal geographic areas for the years ended October 31, 2014, 2013, and 2012 were as follows: (in millions)2014 2013 2012Sales and revenues:     United States$7,760 $7,122 $8,822Canada749 791 949Mexico657 694 728Brazil833 1,121 1,066Other807 1,047 1,130(in millions)2014 2013Long-lived assets:(A)   United States$1,277 $1,467Canada26 26Mexico190 157Brazil182 376Other15 37                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                          |

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| - Definition
Tabular disclosure of all significant reconciling items in the reconciliation of total assets from reportable segments to the entity's consolidated assets.
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| - Definition
Tabular disclosure of entity-wide revenues from external customers for each product or service or each group of similar products or services if the information is not provided as part of the reportable operating segment information.
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| - Definition
Tabular disclosure of the profit or loss and total assets for each reportable segment. An entity discloses certain information on each reportable segment if the amounts (a) are included in the measure of segment profit or loss reviewed by the chief operating decision maker or (b) are otherwise regularly provided to the chief operating decision maker, even if not included in that measure of segment profit or loss.
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