Condensed Consolidated Statements of Operations - USD ($) $ in Thousands	3 Months Ended		9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2017	Sep. 30, 2018	Sep. 30, 2017
Income Statement [Abstract]
Sales and merchandising revenues	$ 685,579	$ 836,595	$ 2,232,720	$ 2,682,273
Cost of sales and merchandising revenues	631,715	766,924	2,024,677	2,448,310
Gross profit	53,864	69,671	208,043	233,963
Operating, administrative and general expenses	65,986	68,153	190,096	219,242
Asset impairment	0	0	6,272	0
Goodwill impairment	0	0	0	42,000
Interest expense	5,176	5,384	20,000	17,472
Other income:
Equity in earnings (loss) of affiliates, net	7,225	3,586	20,601	8,093
Other income, net	6,434	5,285	10,949	17,028
Income (loss) before income taxes	(3,639)	5,005	23,225	(19,630)
Income tax provision (benefit)	(1,764)	2,389	5,668	7,505
Net income (loss)	(1,875)	2,616	17,557	(27,135)
Net income (loss) attributable to the noncontrolling interests	223	83	(175)	73
Net income (loss) attributable to The Andersons, Inc.	$ (2,098)	$ 2,533	$ 17,732	$ (27,208)
Per common share:
Basic earnings attributable to The Andersons, Inc. common shareholders (dollars per share)	$ (0.07)	$ 0.09	$ 0.63	$ (0.96)
Diluted earnings attributable to The Andersons, Inc. common shareholders (dollars per share)	(0.07)	0.09	0.62	(0.96)
Dividends declared (dollars per share)	$ 0.165	$ 0.160	$ 0.495	$ 0.480