CONSOLIDATED STATEMENTS OF CASH FLOWS - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 28, 2019	Dec. 29, 2018		Dec. 30, 2017
Operating activities:
Consolidated net income	$ 106,232	$ 106,820		$ 87,011	[1],[2]
Reconciliation of consolidated net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation	37,337	35,118		30,800	[2]
Amortization of intangibles	5,356	4,437		3,144	[2]
Amortization of debt issuance costs	318	318		303	[2]
Loss from unconsolidated affiliates	24,594	12,645		2,077	[1],[2]
Insurance proceeds - noncapital related	485	2,306		500	[2]
Change in the fair value of contingent consideration	3,625	0		0	[2]
Insurance recovery	(485)	(3,681)		0	[2]
Stock-based compensation expense	8,744	8,035		7,450	[2]
Gain on sale of business	0	0		(1,491)
Gain on disposals of assets	(963)	(253)		(624)	[2]
Impairment charges	0	0		1,466	[1],[2]
Deferred income tax (benefit) expense	(428)	170		(3,160)	[2]
Changes in assets and liabilities, net of effects of businesses acquired and sold:
Receivables	6,505	(11,342)		(1,779)	[2]
Inventories	39,561	27,512		(86,286)	[2]
Other assets	(15,639)	14,353		(5,325)	[2]
Current liabilities	(7,076)	(15,680)		10,678	[2]
Other liabilities	(7,944)	(14,769)		64	[2]
Other, net	322	1,903		(833)	[2]
Net cash provided by operating activities	200,544	167,892		43,995	[2]
Investing activities:
Proceeds from sale of assets, net of cash transferred	3,240	18,703		31,564	[2]
Acquisition of businesses, net of cash acquired	3,465	(167,677)		(18,396)	[2]
Capital expenditures	(31,162)	(38,481)		(46,131)	[2]
Insurance proceeds - capital related	0	1,968		0	[2]
Investments in unconsolidated affiliates	(16,000)	(1,609)		(3,317)	[2]
Net cash used in investing activities	(40,457)	(187,096)		(36,280)	[2]
Financing activities:
Dividends paid to stockholders of Mueller Industries, Inc.	(22,325)	(22,705)		(196,944)	[2]
Dividends paid to noncontrolling interests	(846)	(592)		(2,909)	[2]
Issuance of long-term debt	100,658	204,233		71,475	[2]
Repayments of long-term debt	(206,718)	(172,002)		(111,224)	[2]
Repayment of debt by consolidated joint ventures, net	(4,305)	(2,915)		(3,369)	[2]
Repurchase of common stock	(1,763)	(33,562)		0	[2]
Payment of contingent consideration	(3,170)	0		0	[2]
Net cash used to settle stock-based awards	(1,225)	(726)		(1,595)	[2]
Net cash used in financing activities	(139,694)	(28,269)		(244,566)	[2]
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash	511	(1,952)		2,945	[2]
Increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash	20,904	(49,425)		(233,906)	[2]
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at the beginning of the year	77,138	126,563	[2]	360,469	[2]
Cash, cash equivalents, and restricted cash at the end of the year	$ 98,042	$ 77,138		$ 126,563	[2]

[1] The Consolidated Statement of Income for 2017 has 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 in 2018. 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.

[2] 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.