Condensed Consolidated Statements of Earnings - USD ($) shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Oct. 01, 2022	Oct. 02, 2021	Oct. 01, 2022	Oct. 02, 2021
Income Statement [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 10,500,755	$ 10,313,223	$ 32,788,511	$ 26,119,527
Costs, expenses and other:
Cost of products sold	7,657,364	6,906,950	22,382,718	18,617,314
Marketing, administrative and other expenses	486,560	526,345	1,574,355	1,204,539
Equity in earnings of unconsolidated affiliates	(8,438)	(32,464)	(23,246)	(65,106)
Losses on assets	0	0	0	50,970
Interest expense, net	42,347	43,285	143,245	118,709
Costs, expenses and other, total	8,177,833	7,444,116	24,077,072	19,926,426
Earnings before income taxes and noncontrolling interests	2,322,922	2,869,107	8,711,439	6,193,101
Provision for income taxes	523,879	645,842	1,958,044	1,410,863
Net earnings	1,799,043	2,223,265	6,753,395	4,782,238
Earnings attributable to noncontrolling interests	104,295	95,522	401,791	205,195
Net earnings attributable to Nucor stockholders	$ 1,694,748	$ 2,127,743	$ 6,351,604	$ 4,577,043
Net earnings per share:
Basic	$ 6.51	$ 7.29	$ 23.90	$ 15.37
Diluted	$ 6.50	$ 7.28	$ 23.85	$ 15.34
Average shares outstanding:
Basic	259,102	290,510	264,655	296,431
Diluted	259,526	291,152	265,239	296,928