DEI Document (USD $)	9 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2014	Jun. 28, 2013
DEI [Abstract]
Entity Registrant Name	Con-way Inc.
Trading Symbol	cnw
Entity Central Index Key	0000023675
Current Fiscal Year End Date	--12-31
Entity Filer Category	Large Accelerated Filer
Document Type	10-Q
Document Period End Date	Sep. 30, 2014
Document Fiscal Year Focus	2014
Document Fiscal Period Focus	Q3
Amendment Flag	false
Common Stock, Shares, Outstanding	57,919,964
Entity Well-known Seasoned Issuer	Yes
Entity Voluntary Filers	No
Entity Current Reporting Status	Yes
Entity Public Float		$ 1,605,429,045