Condensed Consolidated Statements Of Operations (USD $) In Thousands, except Per Share data, unless otherwise specified	3 Months Ended
	Mar. 31, 2012	Apr. 02, 2011
Condensed Consolidated Statements Of Operations [Abstract]
Net sales	$ 1,409,035	$ 1,343,595
Cost of sales	1,049,609	1,002,003
Gross profit	359,426	341,592
Selling, general and administrative expenses	287,450	285,508
Operating income	71,976	56,084
Interest expense	22,498	26,595
Other expense (income)	(1,825)	(15)
Earnings before income taxes	51,303	29,504
Income tax expense	10,291	4,966
Net earnings	41,012	24,538
Less: Net earnings attributable to noncontrolling interest	635	1,096
Net earnings attributable to Mohawk Industries, Inc.	$ 40,377	$ 23,442
Basic earnings per share attributable to Mohawk Industries, Inc.	$ 0.59	$ 0.34
Weighted-average common shares outstanding-basic	68,862	68,674
Diluted earnings per share attributable to Mohawk Industries, Inc.	$ 0.58	$ 0.34
Weighted-average common shares outstanding-diluted	69,141	68,904