Consolidated Statements of Operations - USD ($)	3 Months Ended								12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Sep. 30, 2018	Jun. 30, 2018	Mar. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Sep. 30, 2017	Jun. 30, 2017	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Income Statement [Abstract]
Sales and merchandising revenues	$ 812,662,000	$ 685,579,000	$ 911,402,000	$ 635,739,000	$ 1,004,072,000	$ 836,595,000	$ 993,662,000	$ 852,016,000	$ 3,045,382,000	$ 3,686,345,000	$ 3,924,790,000
Cost of sales and merchandising revenues									2,743,377,000	3,367,546,000	3,579,284,000
Gross profit	93,962,000	53,864,000	90,474,000	63,705,000	84,836,000	69,671,000	87,834,000	76,458,000	302,005,000	318,799,000	345,506,000
Operating, administrative and general expenses									257,872,000	286,993,000	316,093,000
Asset impairment									6,272,000	10,913,000	9,107,000
Goodwill impairment									0	59,081,000	0
Interest expense									27,848,000	21,567,000	21,119,000
Other income:
Equity in earnings of affiliates, net									27,141,000	16,723,000	9,721,000
Other income, net									16,002,000	22,507,000	12,473,000
Income (loss) before income taxes									53,156,000	(20,525,000)	21,381,000
Income tax provision (benefit)									11,931,000	(63,134,000)	6,911,000
Net income (loss)									41,225,000	42,609,000	14,470,000
Net income (loss) attributable to the noncontrolling interests									(259,000)	98,000	2,876,000
Net income (loss) attributable to The Andersons, Inc.	$ 23,753,000	$ (2,098,000)	$ 21,529,000	$ (1,700,000)	$ 69,720,000	$ 2,533,000	$ (26,653,000)	$ (3,089,000)	$ 41,484,000	$ 42,511,000	$ 11,594,000
Per common share:
Basic earnings attributable to The Andersons, Inc. common shareholders (in dollars per share)	$ 0.84	$ (0.07)	$ 0.76	$ (0.06)	$ 2.48	$ 0.09	$ (0.94)	$ (0.11)	$ 1.47	$ 1.51	$ 0.41
Diluted earnings attributable to The Andersons, Inc. common shareholders (in dollars per share)	$ 0.84	$ (0.07)	$ 0.76	$ (0.06)	$ 2.47	$ 0.09	$ (0.94)	$ (0.11)	1.46	1.50	0.41
Dividends declared (in dollars per share)									$ 0.6650	$ 0.6450	$ 0.6250