UPDATE 1-European truck sales fall 34.8 pct in June

* Europe H1 new commercial truck sales down 37.2 pct

* Fourteenth consecutive month of decline

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PARIS, July 23 (Reuters) - European new commercial vehicle registrations fell 34.8 percent in June, their fourteenth consecutive monthly drop, hit by the global economic slowdown, Brussels-based industry association ACEA said on Friday.

In the first six months of the year, registrations were down 37.2 percent, with a total of 883,301 vehicles registered and declines in Western Europe as well as new member states. In the first half of 2008, before the financial crisis hit, almost 1.5 million units were registered, ACEA said in a statement.

The truck industry is a good indicator of the economy as it reflects changes in international trade -- commercial vehicles carry 72.5 percent of all inland freight transported in Europe.

Heavy trucks saw the sharpest decline in June, with a 52.4 percent drop in registrations across Europe -- the European Union member states plus the EFTA countries, and excluding Cyprus and Malta.

Light commercial vehicles also saw a sharp fall in sales, down 32.6 percent in June. Registrations of commercial vehicles over 3.5 tonnes fell 48.3 percent, while buses and coaches fared better, declining just 4.8 percent.

Swedish truck maker Scania (SCVb.ST) on Thursday reported a worse-than-forecast plunge in sales in the second quarter and said it expected demand to stay weak in the third quarter. [ID:nLN274307]

World number two truck maker Volvo (VOLVb.ST) had earlier in the week posted a deeper than expected second-quarter loss. [ID:nLL382172] Europe's commercial vehicle industry generated revenues of nearly 7 billion euros and accounted directly for 250,000 jobs in 2006, ACEA estimates.#

Germany's Daimler (DAIGn.DE) and MAN (MANG.DE) report their first half results later this month.

(Reporting by Helen Massy-Beresford, editing by Marcel Michelson)