HIGHCHARTS: Event on Export can't access x-axis labels - highcharts

Question

I am using the render event to alter the positioning of of my x-axis labels on a highchart. It works great - centering labels between ticks on a datetime x-axis and removing the last label.
When I export the chart - with the same setup - the function is called (see centerTimelineLabels below), but it cannot access the rendered x-axis labels. Please see the images below showing the different x-axis labels in the DOM and as an exported PNG.
jsfiddle here: https://jsfiddle.net/SirMunchington/36xcbr7m/52/
Specifically, this.container inside of the function, is an empty wrapper on export... no children.
Is there a way to access and manipulate the x-axis labels in a highchart when exporting?
exporting: {
chartOptions: { // specific options for the exported image
chart: {
backgroundColor: '#ffffff',
events: {
render: centerTimelineLabels
}
}
},
...
var centerTimelineLabels = function() {
var labels = $('.highcharts-xaxis-labels span', this.container).sort(function(a, b) {
return +parseInt($(a).css('left')) - +parseInt($(b).css('left'));
});
$(labels).css('margin-left',
(parseInt($(labels.get(1)).css('left')) - (parseInt($(labels.get(0)).css('left')) + parseInt($(labels.get(1)).width()))) / 2
);
$(labels.get(this.xAxis[0].tickPositions.length - 1)).remove();
};
CORRECT X-AXIS VIA WEB
INCORRECT X-AXIS VIA EXPORT

Answer 1

Thank you for the demo.
Try to use this config - notice that the render event triggers after each chart redraw:
"events": {
render() {
let chart = this,
xAxis = chart.xAxis[0],
ticks = xAxis.ticks,
firstTick = ticks[xAxis.tickPositions[0]],
secondTick = ticks[xAxis.tickPositions[1]],
ticksDistance = secondTick.mark.getBBox().x - firstTick.mark.getBBox().x;
for (let i in ticks) {
let tick = ticks[i];
if (!tick.isLast) {
tick.label.translate(ticksDistance / 2, 0)
}
}
}
}
Demo: https://jsfiddle.net/BlackLabel/o06r1yfw/
To hide the last label set the xAxis.showLastLabel property to false.
API: https://api.highcharts.com/highcharts/xAxis.showLastLabel