Debt And Other Financing Arrangements (Narrative) (Details) (USD $)	12 Months Ended			12 Months Ended		12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended				12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2011	Dec. 31, 2012	Dec. 31, 2010	Dec. 31, 2011 Four Year Unsecured Revolving Credit Facility [Member]	Nov. 30, 2010 Four Year Unsecured Revolving Credit Facility [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Four Year Unsecured Revolving Credit Facility [Member] Minimum [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 Four Year Unsecured Revolving Credit Facility [Member] Maximum [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 7.25% Senior Notes Due 2018 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 7.25% Senior Notes Due 2018 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 7.25% Senior Notes Due 2018 [Member] Minimum [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 7.25% Senior Notes Due 2018 [Member] Maximum [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 6.70% Senior Debentures Due 2034 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2010 6.70% Senior Debentures Due 2034 [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 6.70% Senior Debentures Due 2034 [Member] Minimum [Member]	Dec. 31, 2011 6.70% Senior Debentures Due 2034 [Member] Maximum [Member]
Debt Instrument [Line Items]
Revolving credit facility				$ 325,000,000	$ 325,000,000
Credit facility, maturity date				November 4, 2014
Credit facility, amended maturity date				August 2, 2016
Credit facility, covenant terms				The revolving facility is guaranteed by certain of Con-way's material domestic subsidiaries and contains two financial covenants: (i) a leverage ratio and (ii) a fixed-charge coverage ratio. There are also various restrictive covenants, including limitations on (i) the incurrence of liens, (ii) consolidations, mergers and asset sales, and (iii) the incurrence of additional subsidiary indebtedness.
Letters of credit outstanding				174,100,000
Available capacity for additional letters of credit or cash borrowings				150,900,000
Credit facility fee range						0.25%	0.45%
Other credit facilities amount outstanding	29,900,000
Short-term borrowings	14,481,000		18,552,000
Weighted-average interest rate on the short-term borrowings	7.10%		4.90%
Non-interest bearing borrowings	6,200,000		4,900,000
Rate of interest on Notes								7.25%				6.70%
Maturity date								2018				2034
Redemption period of Senior Notes, days										30	60			30	60
Annual effective interest rate of Senior Notes								7.37%				6.90%
Percentage of repurchase price to aggregate principal amount of the notes repurchased plus any accrued and unpaid interest	101.00%
Frequency of payments								semi-annually
Notes, redemption description												Con-way may redeem the Senior Debentures, in whole or in part, on not less than 30 nor more than 60-days notice, at a redemption price equal to the greater of (i) the principal amount being redeemed, or (ii) the sum of the present values of the remaining scheduled payments of principal and interest on the Senior Debentures being redeemed, discounted at the redemption date on a semi-annual basis at the rate payable on a Treasury note having a comparable maturity plus 35 basis points.
Notes, covenant description								Con-way may redeem the 7.25% Senior Notes, in whole or in part, on not less than 30 nor more than 60-days notice, at a redemption price equal to the greater of (i) the principal amount being redeemed, or (ii) the sum of the present values of the remaining scheduled payments of principal and interest on the notes being redeemed, discounted at the redemption date on a semi-annual basis at the rate payable on a Treasury note having a comparable maturity plus 50 basis points. There are also various restrictive covenants, including limitations on (i) the incurrence of liens, and (ii) consolidations, mergers and asset sales.
Aggregate annual maturities of long-term debt		600,000
Fair value of long-term debt	770,000,000		790,000,000
Senior Notes, Noncurrent								$ 425,000,000	$ 425,000,000			$ 300,000,000	$ 300,000,000