Employee Benefit Plans - Defined Contribution Plans Narrative (Details) - USD ($) $ in Millions	12 Months Ended
Dec. 31, 2020	Dec. 31, 2019	Dec. 31, 2018
Defined Contribution Plan, Employer Matching Contribution, Percent of Match	50.00%
Defined contribution plans, ARC, maximum employee contribution percentage	10.00%
Defined contribution plans, salaried voluntary savings plan, matching contributions during the period	$ 7.9	$ 11.5	$ 12.4
Annual Retirement Contribution (ARC) [Member]
Defined Contribution Plan, Employer Discretionary Contribution Amount	$ 8.0	$ 10.3	$ 7.3
Minimum [Member] \| Annual Retirement Contribution (ARC) [Member]
Defined Contribution Plan, Employer Discretionary Contribution Percentage		3.00%
Maximum [Member] \| Annual Retirement Contribution (ARC) [Member]
Defined Contribution Plan, Employer Discretionary Contribution Percentage		5.00%

Defined Contribution Plan, Employer Discretionary Contribution Percentage

No definition available.

Name:	axl_DefinedContributionPlanEmployerDiscretionaryContributionPercentage
Namespace Prefix:	axl_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

Represents the total amount of matching contributions made by AAM during the period associated with the Voluntary Savings Plan.

No definition available.

Name:	axl_DefinedContributionPlansVoluntarySavingsPlanMatchingContributionsDuringThePeriod
Namespace Prefix:	axl_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

Amount of discretionary contributions made by an employer to a defined contribution plan.

No definition available.

Name:	us-gaap_DefinedContributionPlanEmployerDiscretionaryContributionAmount
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	xbrli:monetaryItemType
Balance Type:	debit
Period Type:	duration

Percentage employer matches of the employee's percentage contribution matched.

No definition available.

Name:	us-gaap_DefinedContributionPlanEmployerMatchingContributionPercentOfMatch
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

Maximum percentage of employee gross pay the employee may contribute to a defined contribution plan.

No definition available.

Name:	us-gaap_DefinedContributionPlanMaximumAnnualContributionsPerEmployeePercent
Namespace Prefix:	us-gaap_
Data Type:	num:percentItemType
Balance Type:	na
Period Type:	duration

Name:	us-gaap_RetirementPlanTypeAxis=axl_AnnualRetirementContributionArcMember
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Data Type:	na
Balance Type:
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Name:	srt_RangeAxis=srt_MinimumMember
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Data Type:	na
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Name:	srt_RangeAxis=srt_MaximumMember
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Data Type:	na
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