Document And Entity Information - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Jan. 31, 2019	Jun. 30, 2018
Document And Entity Information [Abstract]
Document Type	10-K
Amendment Flag	false
Document Period End Date	Dec. 31, 2018
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2018
Document Fiscal Period Focus	FY
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Public Float			$ 1,718,362,472
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Trading Symbol	cbm
Entity Registrant Name	CAMBREX CORP
Entity Central Index Key	0000820081
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Entity Common Stock, Shares Outstanding (in shares)		33,608,765
Entity Emerging Growth Company	false
Entity Small Business	false
Entity Shell Company	false