* Volvo July truck deliveries fall 54 pct yr/yr in July

* Annual decline in line with aggregate fall in Jan-July

* Shipments in main market Europe down 66 pct yr/yr in July

(Adds analyst comment, share price)

World number two truck maker Volvo AB (VOLVb.ST) said its truck shipments fell 54 percent year-on-year in July as the economic downturn weighed on demand for commercial vehicles across the globe.

Volvo, which sells trucks under brands such as Renault, Nissan Diesel and Mack as well as its own name, said in a statement on Thursday deliveries fell 66 percent in Europe, its biggest market, and shrank 46 percent in North America.

In Asia, Volvo's truck deliveries were down 42 percent from a year ago.

Shares in the company were down 1.2 percent to 63 crowns by 0703 GMT, underperforming a 0.1 percent decline in the Stockholm bourse's blue chip index .OMXS30.

Europe remains weak, but there is no real shift from the recent trend. North America may be slightly weaker than expected, but only marginally so, said an analyst who asked not to be identified.

The global financial crisis has left truck buyers starved of money to fund the purchase of new vehicles, while recession across Volvo's main markets has further dampened demand, leaving truck makers racing to cut production capacity.

But tentative signs of stabilisation have emerged in recent months, with annualised rates of decline in orders not steepening further from the headlong tumble recorded around the turn of the year though a real recovery remains illusive.

The fall in Volvo's July orders was exactly in line with the aggregate decline for the first seven months of the year. The company has said it expects the European truck market to be cut in half or worse this year, while the North American market is seen down between 30 and 40 percent.

The figures continue to be weak, though I don't believe they are any weaker than expected, said another analyst. The figures have fallen over the past year and we still don't see any signs of an upturn. (Additional reporting by Dani Backteg and Fanny Modin; Editing by David Holmes)

Down