diff --git a/next.config.js b/next.config.js
index 787b353..6dfa9df 100644
--- a/next.config.js
+++ b/next.config.js
@@ -22,6 +22,15 @@ const nextConfig = {
       allowedOrigins: ["*"],
     },
   },
+  // pdfmake's server-side PdfPrinter pulls in pdfkit -> @foliojs-fork/fontkit,
+  // which loads font-shaping tables (data.trie etc.) from a path relative to
+  // its own installed location at runtime. Webpack-bundled into a Server
+  // Component/Route Handler chunk, that relative lookup 404s (ENOENT) because
+  // the .trie files never get copied alongside the bundle. Left as native
+  // Node `require`, the real node_modules layout resolves them correctly —
+  // the same reason `sharp` and `@react-pdf/renderer` ship in Next's own
+  // default external-packages list.
+  serverExternalPackages: ["pdfmake", "pdfkit", "@foliojs-fork/fontkit"],
 };
 
 const withPWA = require("@ducanh2912/next-pwa").default({
diff --git a/src/lib/reports/pdf/chart-svg.test.ts b/src/lib/reports/pdf/chart-svg.test.ts
index e557ad3..2781d4a 100644
--- a/src/lib/reports/pdf/chart-svg.test.ts
+++ b/src/lib/reports/pdf/chart-svg.test.ts
@@ -1,6 +1,6 @@
 import { describe, expect, it } from "vitest";
 import type { ChartSpec } from "@/lib/reports/chart-spec";
-import { buildChartPlan, planToSvg } from "./chart-svg";
+import { buildChartPlan, categoryLabelStride, planToSvg } from "./chart-svg";
 
 const barSpec: ChartSpec = {
   id: "fuel-by-vehicle",
@@ -99,4 +99,46 @@ describe("planToSvg", () => {
     expect(svg).not.toContain("<A&B>");
     expect(svg).toContain("&lt;A&amp;B&gt;");
   });
+
+  it("thins x-axis labels for a chart with many narrow categories, instead of printing overlapping text", () => {
+    const many: ChartSpec = {
+      ...barSpec,
+      rows: Array.from({ length: 30 }, (_, i) => ({
+        vehicle: `Vehicle number ${i + 1}`,
+        litres: 100 + i,
+        cost: 100 + i,
+      })),
+    };
+    const plan = buildChartPlan(many, 400, 220);
+    const svg = planToSvg(plan);
+    const categoryLabelCount = (svg.match(/text-anchor="middle">/g) ?? []).length;
+    expect(categoryLabelCount).toBeGreaterThan(0);
+    expect(categoryLabelCount).toBeLessThan(plan.categories.length);
+  });
+});
+
+describe("categoryLabelStride", () => {
+  it("keeps every label when the slots are wide enough", () => {
+    const categories = [
+      { x: 0, width: 100, label: "A" },
+      { x: 100, width: 100, label: "B" },
+      { x: 200, width: 100, label: "C" },
+    ];
+    expect(categoryLabelStride(categories).map((c) => c.label)).toEqual(["A", "B", "C"]);
+  });
+
+  it("drops every other label (or more) when slots are too narrow for the widest one", () => {
+    const categories = Array.from({ length: 10 }, (_, i) => ({
+      x: i * 20,
+      width: 20,
+      label: `Long vehicle name ${i}`,
+    }));
+    const kept = categoryLabelStride(categories);
+    expect(kept.length).toBeLessThan(categories.length);
+    expect(kept[0].label).toBe(categories[0].label.slice(0, 11) + "…");
+  });
+
+  it("returns nothing for no categories", () => {
+    expect(categoryLabelStride([])).toEqual([]);
+  });
 });
diff --git a/src/lib/reports/pdf/chart-svg.ts b/src/lib/reports/pdf/chart-svg.ts
index 6674539..43ed682 100644
--- a/src/lib/reports/pdf/chart-svg.ts
+++ b/src/lib/reports/pdf/chart-svg.ts
@@ -289,6 +289,29 @@ function esc(s: string): string {
   return s.replace(/&/g, "&amp;").replace(/</g, "&lt;").replace(/>/g, "&gt;");
 }
 
+const LABEL_MAX_CHARS = 12;
+const LABEL_CHAR_PX = 5.2;
+const LABEL_GAP_PX = 6;
+
+function truncateLabel(label: string): string {
+  return label.length > LABEL_MAX_CHARS ? `${label.slice(0, LABEL_MAX_CHARS - 1)}…` : label;
+}
+
+/**
+ * Every category's slot, truncated to its label text, but only every
+ * Nth one when the slots are too narrow for the widest label to fit
+ * without colliding with its neighbour — the SVG equivalent of
+ * recharts' `minTickGap`.
+ */
+export function categoryLabelStride(categories: Category[]): Category[] {
+  if (categories.length === 0) return [];
+  const truncated = categories.map((c) => ({ ...c, label: truncateLabel(c.label) }));
+  const widestPx = Math.max(...truncated.map((c) => c.label.length * LABEL_CHAR_PX));
+  const slotWidth = truncated[0].width || 1;
+  const step = Math.max(1, Math.ceil((widestPx + LABEL_GAP_PX) / slotWidth));
+  return truncated.filter((_, i) => i % step === 0);
+}
+
 function pointsToPath(points: Point[]): string {
   return points.map((p, i) => `${i === 0 ? "M" : "L"} ${p.x} ${p.y}`).join(" ");
 }
@@ -321,15 +344,17 @@ export function planToSvg(plan: ChartPlan): string {
         `<text x="${plan.plot.left - 8}" y="${tick.y + 3}" font-size="9" fill="${CHART_AXIS}" text-anchor="end">${esc(tick.label)}</text>`,
       );
     }
-    // X axis baseline + category labels.
+    // X axis baseline + category labels, thinned (recharts' minTickGap
+    // idea) so a chart with many categories never prints overlapping
+    // garbage — a category label is only ever this dense on a rich
+    // dataset, and a "how would this look" test would never catch it.
     const baseline = plan.plot.top + plan.plot.height;
     parts.push(
       `<line x1="${plan.plot.left}" y1="${baseline}" x2="${plan.plot.left + plan.plot.width}" y2="${baseline}" stroke="${CHART_AXIS}" stroke-width="1"/>`,
     );
-    for (const cat of plan.categories) {
-      const label = cat.label.length > 12 ? `${cat.label.slice(0, 11)}…` : cat.label;
+    for (const cat of categoryLabelStride(plan.categories)) {
       parts.push(
-        `<text x="${cat.x + cat.width / 2}" y="${baseline + 14}" font-size="9" fill="${CHART_AXIS}" text-anchor="middle">${esc(label)}</text>`,
+        `<text x="${cat.x + cat.width / 2}" y="${baseline + 14}" font-size="9" fill="${CHART_AXIS}" text-anchor="middle">${esc(cat.label)}</text>`,
       );
     }