Condensed Consolidated Statements Of Earnings (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012	Apr. 02, 2011
Condensed Consolidated Statements Of Earnings [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 5,072,594	$ 4,833,934
Costs, expenses and other:
Cost of products sold	4,692,067	4,410,199
Marketing, administrative and other expenses	107,119	110,704
Equity in losses of unconsolidated affiliates	6,674	4,210
Interest expense, net	41,672	42,566
Costs, expenses and other, total	4,847,532	4,567,679
Earnings before income taxes and noncontrolling interests	225,062	266,255
Provision for income taxes	61,650	85,133
Net earnings	163,412	181,122
Earnings attributable to noncontrolling interests	18,308	21,281
Net earnings attributable to Nucor stockholders	$ 145,104	$ 159,841
Net earnings per share:
Basic	$ 0.46	$ 0.50
Diluted	$ 0.46	$ 0.50
Average shares outstanding:
Basic	317,689	316,595
Diluted	317,779	316,874
Dividends declared per share	$ 0.3650	$ 0.3625