WASHINGTON -- Add together all the billions on the table and this number pops up on the calculator -- $97.4 billion.

That's what the U.S. auto industry says it needs from the government to keep itself afloat through a recession that looks deeper every day, according to The Detroit Free Press. The sum will only grow if consumers don't buy more new cars and trucks.

The figure -- equal to $874 from every U.S. household -- includes up to $39 billion in survival loans for General Motors and Chrysler, a $25.5-billion rescue sought by auto suppliers and $25.4 billion in requests to retool auto plants to build more efficient models.

And it's likely not the end.

Many experts say more of such requests are inevitable. But the White House warned Tuesday there was a limit to the help any industry could expect.