(Adds analyst comment, updates share price)

STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - Shipments of world number two truck maker Volvo's (VOLVb.ST: Quote, Profile, Research) vehicles rose 44 percent in April from a year earlier, boosted by a temporary surge in North American deliveries in the wake of U.S. strike action.

The Swedish firm, which sells trucks under the Renault, Nissan Diesel and Mack brands as well as its own name, said in a statement on Tuesday it delivered 24,616 trucks in April compared with 17,070 in April last year.

Volvo's deliveries in Europe, its key market, rose 29 percent to 13,262 trucks.

In North America, deliveries soared 202 percent to 3,689 units, but a Volvo spokesman said this was the result of increased production in the wake of a strike at its New River Valley, Virginia plant earlier this year.

He said production had now been reduced to levels more consistent with demand.

"It's a temporary effect," investor relations head Christer Johansson said. "We had a strike in one of our plants in February and March and what we've been trying to do is to catch up production now in April."

Work at the New River Valley operation stopped for more than a month in February, and the company reached a three-year wage deal at the plant mid-March.

Volvo shares were up 1 percent as of 0742 GMT at 102.75 crowns.