Document and Entity Information	3 Months Ended
	Apr. 04, 2015
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-Q
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Apr. 04, 2015
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2015
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q1
Trading Symbol	NUE
Entity Registrant Name	NUCOR CORP
Entity Central Index Key	0000073309
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding	319,134,811