Subsequent Event	6 Months Ended
Jul. 04, 2020
Subsequent Events [Abstract]
Subsequent Event	19. Subsequent Event On July 27, 2020, Nucor became an obligor with respect to $162.6 million in 40-year variable-rate Green Bonds to partially fund the capital costs, in particular the expenditures associated with pollution prevention and control including waste recycling, associated with the construction of Nucor’s plate mill located in Brandenburg, Kentucky. The net proceeds from the debt issuance are being held in a trust account pending disbursement for the construction of the facility.

The entire disclosure for significant events or transactions that occurred after the balance sheet date through the date the financial statements were issued or the date the financial statements were available to be issued. Examples include: the sale of a capital stock issue, purchase of a business, settlement of litigation, catastrophic loss, significant foreign exchange rate changes, loans to insiders or affiliates, and transactions not in the ordinary course of business.

Reference 1: http://fasb.org/us-gaap/role/ref/legacyRef
-Publisher FASB
-Name Accounting Standards Codification
-Topic 855
-URI http://asc.fasb.org/topic&trid=2122774

Name:	us-gaap_SubsequentEventsTextBlock
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	nonnum:textBlockItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration