CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS - USD ($) $ in Thousands		12 Months Ended
		Dec. 29, 2018	Dec. 30, 2017		Dec. 31, 2016
Operating activities:
Consolidated net income		$ 106,820	$ 87,011	[1],[2]	$ 99,754	[1],[2]
Reconciliation of consolidated net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation		35,118	30,800	[1]	30,827	[1]
Amortization of intangibles		4,437	3,144	[1]	4,306	[1]
Amortization of debt issuance costs		318	303	[1]	569	[1]
Loss (income) from unconsolidated affiliates		12,645	2,077	[1],[2]	(1,861)	[1],[2]
Insurance proceeds - noncapital related		2,306	500	[1]	0	[1]
Insurance recovery		(3,681)	0	[1]	0	[1]
Stock-based compensation expense		8,035	7,450	[1]	6,387	[1]
Gain on sale of business		0	(1,491)		0
Gain on disposals of assets		(253)	(624)	[1]	(651)	[1]
Impairment charges		0	1,466	[1],[2]	6,778	[1],[2]
Deferred income tax expense (benefit)		170	(3,160)	[1]	6,998	[1]
Recovery of doubtful accounts receivable		0	0	[1]	(50)	[1]
Changes in assets and liabilities, net of effects of businesses acquired and sold:
Receivables		(11,342)	(1,779)	[1]	(16,502)	[1]
Inventories		27,512	(86,286)	[1]	6,662	[1]
Other assets		14,353	(5,325)	[1]	5,808	[1]
Current liabilities		(15,680)	10,678	[1]	5,646	[1]
Other liabilities		(14,769)	64	[1]	1,518	[1]
Other, net		1,903	(833)	[1]	1,589	[1]
Net cash provided by operating activities		167,892	43,995	[1]	157,778	[1]
Investing activities:
Proceeds from sale of assets, net of cash transferred		18,703	31,564	[1]	10,304	[1]
Acquisition of businesses, net of cash acquired		(167,677)	(18,396)	[1]	(20,533)	[1]
Capital expenditures		(38,481)	(46,131)	[1]	(37,497)	[1]
Insurance proceeds - capital related		1,968	0	[1]	0	[1]
Investment in unconsolidated affiliates		(1,609)	(3,317)	[1]	0	[1]
Net cash used in investing activities		(187,096)	(36,280)	[1]	(47,726)	[1]
Financing activities:
Dividends paid to stockholders of Mueller Industries, Inc.		(22,705)	(196,944)	[1]	(21,224)	[1]
Dividends paid to noncontrolling interests		(592)	(2,909)	[1]	(3,765)	[1]
Issuance of long-term debt		204,233	71,475	[1]	3,500	[1]
Repayments of long-term debt		(172,002)	(111,224)	[1]	(1,074)	[1]
(Repayment) issuance of debt by consolidated joint ventures, net		(2,915)	(3,369)	[1]	2,265	[1]
Repurchase of common stock		(33,562)	0	[1]	0	[1]
Net cash used to settle stock-based awards		(726)	(1,595)	[1]	(1,306)	[1]
Debt issuance costs		0	0	[1]	(957)	[1]
Net cash used in financing activities		(28,269)	(244,566)	[1]	(22,561)	[1]
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash		(1,952)	2,945	[1]	(5,686)	[1]
(Decrease) increase in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash		(49,425)	(233,906)	[1]	81,805	[1]
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at the beginning of the year	[1]	126,563	360,469		278,664
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at the end of the year		$ 77,138	$ 126,563	[1]	$ 360,469	[1]

[1] The Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows for prior periods have been adjusted to reflect the adoption of ASU 2016-18, Statement of Cash Flows (Topic 230): Restricted Cash. The Consolidated Statements of Cash Flows reflect the changes during the periods in the total of cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash. Therefore, restricted cash activity is included with cash when reconciling the beginning-of-period and end-of-period total amounts shown. Refer to Note 1 for further discussion.

[2] The Consolidated Statements of Income for prior periods have been adjusted to reflect the adoption of ASU 2017-07, Compensation - Retirement Benefits (Topic 715): Improving the Presentation of Net Periodic Pension Cost and Net Periodic Postretirement Benefit Cost. The components of net periodic benefit cost (income) other than the service cost component are included in other income, net in the Consolidated Statements of Income. Refer to Note 1 for further discussion.