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Joint Ventures and Noncontrolling Interests (Details)	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011 jointventure	Dec. 31, 2011 Acero Prime S. de R.L. de C.V.	Dec. 31, 2011 Oregon Feralloy Partners LLC	Dec. 31, 2011 Indiana Pickling & Processing Company	Dec. 31, 2011 Feralloy Processing Company	Dec. 31, 2011 Valex Corp.	Dec. 31, 2011 Valex Corp. People's Republic of China	Dec. 31, 2011 Valex Corp. South Korea	Dec. 31, 2011 FP Structural Solutions	Jun. 30, 2011 FP Structural Solutions	Dec. 31, 2011 Minimum	Dec. 31, 2011 Maximum
Joint Ventures and Noncontrolling Interests
Ownership percentage in equity method investment		40.00%	40.00%								20.00%	50.00%
Number of joint ventures in which the entity has a noncontrolling interest	2
Ownership percentage in investments other than equity method investment				56.00%	51.00%	97.00%			70.00%	70.00%
Ownership percentage in investments other than equity method investment							93.00%	92.00%
Percentage of ownership for consolidation of financial statements											50.00%

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Represents the number of joint ventures in which the entity has a noncontrolling interest.

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Represents the percentage of ownership in another entity's common stock, held directly or indirectly by the parent, for consolidation of financial statements.

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The percentage of ownership of common stock or equity participation in the investee accounted for under the equity method of accounting.

+ References

Reference 1: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Statement of Financial Accounting Standard (FAS)

-Number 159

-Paragraph 18

-Subparagraph f

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.



Reference 2: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher AICPA

-Name Accounting Principles Board Opinion (APB)

-Number 18

-Paragraph 20

-Subparagraph a (1)

-LegacyDoc This reference is SUPERSEDED by the Accounting Standards Codification effective for interim and annual periods ending after September 15, 2009. This reference is included to help users transition from the previous accounting hierarchy and will be removed from future versions of this taxonomy.



Reference 3: http://www.xbrl.org/2003/role/presentationRef

-Publisher FASB

-Name Accounting Standards Codification

-Topic 323

-SubTopic 10

-Section 50

-Paragraph 3

-Subparagraph (a)(1)

-URI http://asc.fasb.org/extlink&oid=6382943&loc=d3e33918-111571

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The equity interest of noncontrolling shareholders, partners or other equity holders in consolidated entity.

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The parent entity's interest in net assets of the subsidiary, expressed as a percentage.

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