Con-way Inc said prices for trucking are rising as capacity tightens.

"Pricing is not on a declining trajectory; it's on an improving trajectory," Herb Schmidt, president of Con-way Truckload, said on an analyst call on Thursday.

Prices rose about 4.1 percent year over year in 2010, and while it is too soon to project 2011 increases, customer inquiries suggest there is pricing traction, he said.

The company expects fewer empty miles as well.

Proposed federal regulations that would limit the number of driving hours for truckers would further reduce capacity and require Con-way to add new trucks to handle the same amount of volume, Schmidt said.

If imposed as currently proposed, the company would need about 4 percent more trucks "virtually immediately," he added. (Reuters)