CONSOLIDATED BALANCE SHEETS (USD $) In Thousands, unless otherwise specified	Sep. 30, 2013	Dec. 31, 2012
Current assets
Cash and equivalents	$ 370,056	$ 375,917
Investments in short-term commercial paper		31,520
Accounts receivable, net	722,867	599,499
Accounts receivable-related parties	50,006	42,864
Inventories	1,192,032	1,202,507
Deferred income taxes	25,228	23,449
Other current assets	25,126	20,469
Total current assets	2,385,315	2,296,225
Property, plant and equipment, net	2,241,067	2,231,198
Restricted cash	23,016	27,749
Intangible assets, net	393,531	416,635
Goodwill	733,650	738,542
Other assets	97,726	105,067
Total assets	5,874,305	5,815,416
Current liabilities
Accounts payable	411,201	344,953
Accounts payable-related parties	15,205	15,144
Income taxes payable	7,649	16,941
Accrued payroll and benefits	79,589	85,802
Accrued interest	23,060	35,306
Accrued expenses	82,157	81,900
Current maturities of long-term debt	335,341	29,631
Total current liabilities	954,202	609,677
Long-term debt
Term note	226,875	247,500
Senior notes	1,500,000	1,600,000
Convertible senior notes		287,496
Other long-term debt	46,744	37,610
Total long-term debt	1,773,619	2,172,606
Deferred income taxes	565,798	537,304
Other liabilities	22,898	19,173
Commitments and contingencies
Redeemable noncontrolling interests	110,054	98,814
Equity
Common stock voting, $.0025 par value; 900,000,000 shares authorized; 257,314,197 and 255,592,901 shares issued; and 221,349,383 and 219,522,655 shares outstanding, as of September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012, respectively	641	637
Treasury stock, at cost; 35,964,814 and 36,070,246 shares, as of September 30, 2013 and December 31, 2012, respectively	(718,373)	(720,479)
Additional paid-in capital	1,060,780	1,037,687
Retained earnings	2,149,389	2,087,620
Total Steel Dynamics, Inc. equity	2,492,437	2,405,465
Noncontrolling interests	(44,703)	(27,623)
Total equity	2,447,734	2,377,842
Total liabilities and equity	$ 5,874,305	$ 5,815,416